Pre-season testing for the 2024 F1 campaign is already underway in Bahrain. Among all the teams that showcased their 2024 cars, Red Bull grabbed the most attention. Much to the surprise of many, the RB20 had three air inlets on their side pod design.
Coming into the 2024 season, several had speculated that Red Bull may follow Mercedes’ path and opt for the zero side pod design this year. Had the Milton Keynes outfit chosen that path, it would have been a real shock since Mercedes failed with the zero side pod concept in the last two campaigns.
As a result, the Silver Arrows ultimately decided to scrap the concept last season. While Red Bull have not opted for the zero side pod design, they have made an ingenious innovation.
The RB20 features three air inlets. Apart from the vertical inlet near the side pod, the RB20 has air ducts on either side of the engine cover. This is added with the vertical inlet and the upside-down spoon inlet, an enhanced version of the letterbox-shaped inlet from the RB19.
However, none of these features were visible during the launch at Silverstone. Even the photos released by Red Bull’s social media did not show the incredible innovations made by the team. The team does indeed seem to have done a good job over the winter as Max Verstappen enjoyed his time driving the RB20 during the first day of testing.
Max Verstappen led the pack on the first day of testing
As teams geared up to show their potential and evaluate the work done by the engineers over the winter, Max Verstappen emerged on top once again. The Dutchman with his RB20 was untouchable and his best time was seven-tenths quicker than second-placed Charles Leclerc.
However, relying on the first-day results might not be wise for teams as they tend not to showcase their full potential. Teams try out different setups and some also deliberately ‘sandbag’. Therefore, teams that are lowly placed during the testing might surprise everyone when the lights go out for the season opener in Bahrain.
However, it comes as no surprise that Verstappen and Red Bull led the way. The team dominated the field in 2023 as they registered a record 21 wins out of the 22 races. As for the rest of the teams, they would have hoped to close the gap to Red Bull over the winter. They will now hope that they can use the two more days of testing wisely to evaluate their pace.
