Red Bull had an utterly dominant 2023 season with their RB19 as they won 21 out of the 22 races. However, according to team principal Christian Horner, his side made one crucial decision to ensure that they did not impede the development of their RB20.
While speaking to Motorsport Magazine, Christian Horner revealed, “Fortunately we had a good starting point. Because if we had used the (very limited) time available in the tunnel to develop the RB19, this would have significantly compromised the RB20.”
Christian Horner: Fortunately we had a good starting point, because if we had used the (very limited) time available in the tunnel to develop the RB19, this would have significantly compromised the RB20.
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— Junaid #JB17 (@JunaidSamodien_) November 30, 2023
The team knew that they had limited time available to test their components in the wind tunnel. This was due to their 10% aero testing time penalty for the cost-cap breach in 2021. Hence, they abandoned the development of the RB19 earlier to utilize the time on the RB20.
Hence, the RB20 is expected to be better than the 2023 car and that could only mean further success for the Milton Keynes team. Most of the credit for the same goes to aero God Adrian Newey. The 64-year-old has worked tirelessly to ensure the aerodynamic efficiency of the RB20 reaches new heights.
Adrian Newey raced against the clock to make the RB2o unbeatable
Adrian Newey has had the advantage of beginning work on the RB20 earlier than most of Red Bull’s rivals. Hence, he has had more time to perfect the concepts of the car and evolve the RB19.
While Newey believes that the likes of Mercedes, Ferrari, and McLaren can close the gap to the RB19’s performance, he believes that the RB20 will be even more dominant. While the cost cap penalty was a blessing in disguise for Red Bull in some ways, it also impeded their progress in several other ways.
Obv. I can’t go into details, but what I’ve heard of the 2024 car is that this design is no where near a performance ceiling. Newey has been deep in the RB20, and no one is satisfied with where the RB19 is.
pic.twitter.com/R2w4hdIVsi— Dr Obbs (@dr_obbs) October 19, 2023
The reduction in the aero testing time forced their hand into revamping their schedules. However, despite this handicap, the team were able to register arguably the greatest F1 season in the entire history of this sport. It is also this reason why Red Bull will once again be the favorites in 2024.
