With Red Bull struggling to replicate its past dominance, the team has undertaken drastic measures to work out its problems. As confirmed in an update by De Telegraaf, the Milton Keynes-based outfit conducted an ‘off-limits’ test in Imola a week ago. Max Verstappen was at the helm of proceedings, getting behind the wheel of an RB18 – the team’s 2022 car.
Despite leading the Constructors’ as well as the Drivers’ Championships, Red Bull has been far from comfortable this season. The Austrian team has already lost three races, and the practice session in Barcelona ahead of the Spanish GP this weekend was nothing to write home about.
Red Bull did a secret test in Imola with the RB18 last Wednesday, @ErikvHaren reports
Max Verstappen was behind the wheel of the 2022 car to take another close look at what the differences are from this season’s car, both positive and negative.
— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) June 21, 2024
Thus, to better understand the lack of performance in the RB20, the team went to Imola to test drive an older car to see where they are lacking currently. Verstappen took up duties, as Red Bull tried to learn both the positive and negative differences between the two challengers.
Notably, the more dominant RB19 was not used in the testing as the rules don’t warrant its use. Per the regulations, a car should be at least two years old for a team to use it in unregulated testing.
However, it seems that Red Bull is yet to implement their learnings from Imola to the RB20, given the team’s performance on Day 1 of the Spanish GP weekend.
Red Bull wouldn’t be too happy with the results of Free Practice
The much-awaited outing in Barcelona is finally underway, and the first day didn’t quite go as well as Red Bull would have hoped. With the playing field becoming level with each passing race, the Austrian team is finding it more and more difficult to establish dominance.
FP1 saw McLaren’s Lando Norris draw first blood, as they went fastest before a Red Flag halted proceedings. Verstappen finished in P2, 0.024 seconds behind the session leader, which isn’t a lot, but at the same time, behind where Verstappen would want to be.
In FP2, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton finished in the top spot, with Carlos Sainz and Norris completing the top three. Verstappen was fifth-fastest in the session, 0.240 seconds behind Hamilton – an even bigger margin.
With Adrian Newey not working on the RB20 anymore, one cannot ignore the connection to the lack of performance (even if it is coincidental). Given his absence, Technical Director Pierre Wache talked about how the team has their hands full, working on three cars at the moment.
Rivals, however, have noticed a crack in Red Bull’s foundation and are doing their best to topple it.
