Adrian Newey Explains the Crucial Fine Details of RB20 That ‘People Have Not Noticed’

Red Bull turned several heads in the paddock and the media when they first unveiled the RB20 to the entire world. The Milton Keynes-based outfit had seemingly adopted Mercedes’ discarded zero pods concept. Although Adrian Newey acknowledged the same, he has now gone on to reveal some of the details of the RB20 that people have not yet noticed.

Newey told the F1 Nation podcast (as quoted by F1Maximaal.nl), “The visual change is actually many times greater than the change in performance. And there are other, much more subtle parts that people haven’t noticed but are probably responsible for bigger gains.”

: Adrian Newey has clarified that despite the noticeable exterior changes in the RB20 compared to its predecessor, it is not a radical departure from their previous design philosophy. He emphasized that underneath the surface, the RB20 maintains the fundamental architecture of… pic.twitter.com/3Ago3Wm9zy

— F1 Naija (@f1_naija) March 5, 2024

Newey, who has helped Red Bull win six Constructors’ Championships, explained that other than the sidepods of the car, the team have worked tirelessly to introduce many finer aerodynamic appendages on the outside of the car to maximize performance gains on the 2024 challenger. Despite making so many changes to the car from the previous season, the 65-year-old yet refrains from calling the design of the RB20 a revolution.

The basic design philosophy of the RB20 is a “third-generation evolution” that started with the RB18 – the 2022 car. The RB18 was a good package to build on as it helped Max Verstappen win his second driver’s title and Red Bull’s first Constructors’ trophy since 2013. Moreover, it also helped the team register 17 wins and 28 podiums along the way.

Red Bull don’t expect to dominate in 2024 despite Verstappen’s win in Bahrain

Max Verstappen dominated this past weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix from start to finish. He not only bagged the pole but also won the race by leading every single lap. Furthermore, since he also secured the fastest lap of the race, he earned the grand slam.

With Sergio Perez finishing second, he made it a 1-2 for Red Bull. As a result of Red Bull’s domination in Bahrain, the consensus in the paddock is to witness a repeat of 2023.

However, Newey doesn’t believe that the RB20 could possibly equal or better the record of its predecessor. “We were certainly not as satisfied with the car as during the test,” explained the Briton.

The RB20 delivered ✨ pic.twitter.com/le1HCyjwsZ

— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) March 3, 2024

Even team principal Christian Horner believes that the field this year is more closely matched. However, since the rules have not changed much as compared to last year, Red Bull are still expected to dominate.