Although Red Bull’s RB20 design is “half a step ahead” of its competitors, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz stated that he is not “afraid” and will not yet raise the white flag.
Red Bull launched a historically dominant campaign in 2023, winning an incredible 21 of the 22 grand prix that were conducted. Only Carlos Sainz’s victory in Singapore prevented Red Bull from being unbeaten that season.
However, given their dominant position in Formula 1, it was only natural that Red Bull would introduce the RB20 for F1 2024, which would be an advancement of the idea that has governed the ground effect period. Did they really do that? Naturally, no.
Half a step forward Carlos Sainz is not scared of Red Bull RB20.
For its RB20, Red Bull has opted for a radical concept change, surprising everyone by drawing parallels to Mercedes’ ill-fated “zeropod” idea. Red Bull appears to have found the keys to success with this strategy, but only this once.
Ferrari may have won the second and last day of Bahrain F1 2024 testing, but Red Bull’s RB20 and the current three-time world champion Max Verstappen are widely believed to be leading contenders by the paddock.
Red Bull senior adviser Helmut Marko calculated their lead to be three tenths per lap, but Ferrari is also feeling good about their SF-24; after seeing the car in action, Sainz said it was a contender that “made sense,” so he is not backing down.
