The RB-19 was one of the most dominant F1 cars in history, guiding Red Bull to 20 race wins out of 21 in 2023. It also goes down in history as the car has with the most number of podiums and points. Now, former Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo, reveals what makes the RB-19 so unique and different from other championship-winning cars.
Ricciardo said to F1’s Beyond the Grid podcast,
“The part I love most about the Red Bull car is that I can just drive it the way I want to drive it. It doesn’t really explain what’s great about the car, but it explains why I love it.”
Ricciardo got the chance to drive the car during the Pirelli tire test in Silverstone following the conclusion of the 2023 British GP. Ricciardo’s performance that day was what pave his way back to F1. His lap times were so good that the team decided to give him a seat at their sister team AlphaTauri, as Nyck de Vries’ replacement.
RedBull decidedly improved over their already great 2022 season:
4 more wins
6 more poles
3 more fastest laps
101 more pointsRB19>RB18 in every way: In Adu Dhabi, both the top speed (+2km/h) and high-speed cornering (+8km/h) improved!
More downforce AND less drag✅… pic.twitter.com/Xq8r4FBRK5— Formula Data Analysis (@FDataAnalysis) January 6, 2024
As he drove the car, he also revealed, “I just remember getting on the throttle. Once I’d got to like 50% throttle, I had so much faith in just smashing that last 50% and not having to really worry about the car or where it was.”
The RB-19 was so supreme that it also beat McLaren’s record from 1988. Their car, the MP4/4, driven by Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost took 15 wins out of 16 races that year. It had a winning ratio of 93.8% until the RB-19 beat that with 95.45% in 2023.
Notably, the RB-19 was so supreme that Red Bull stopped developing the car post-summer break. They wanted to put all their focus on the RB-20, which is why, their 2024 car is expected to be stronger than last year’s.
Daniel Ricciardo looking to drive a much stronger RB-20
With looking into issues like cornering speed and one-lap speed and working on rectifying them, the RB-20 could prove to be stronger than its predecessor. Their race pace was much stronger than rival cars in 2023, which could very well continue into the upcoming campaign.
Daniel Ricciardo would undoubtedly want to get his hands on this car, but it won’t be easy. He got the chance to drive it as a reserve driver in 2023, he may not get the chance to do the same this time around. This is because his focus has to be on AlphaTauri and helping them succeed.
He also cannot have his eyes on the Red Bull seat, as Christian Horner repeatedly insisted that Sergio Perez will at the least, see out his contract which runs out at the end of this season.
First, Ricciardo has to give his best and get the better of Yuki Tsunoda at AlphaTauri. If his performances are deemed good enough, Red Bull and Horner may look to secure the Perth-born driver’s services.
