According to renowned F1 journalist Giuliano Duchessa, Red Bull is preparing itself against the rapid onslaught of McLaren in 2024. The defending champions have $135,000,000 at their disposal to improve on their already dominant car. However, they have chosen to save all their resources to fend McLaren off next campaign.
McLaren’s resurgence in the latter half of the 2023 season has been awe-inspiring. The team that was with zero points after the second race in Saudi Arabia is now on Red Bull’s toes, challenging right at the front. Additionally, they are also on the verge of getting P4 in the constructors championship.
They are now regarded as the second-best team after the Austrian squad, with an incredible driver pairing of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. This is why Red Bull boss Christian Horner feels that McLaren could pose a serious threat next year.
Red Bull preparing itself for McLaren’s onslaught
Because of how close McLaren have gotten to Red Bull this season, the latter will be more comfortable if the gap between them increased. With that in mind, the Austrian team are already on their way to developing an even better RB20 for next season.
On this, Duchessa reported on X, “According to the updated data, if the McLaren of Andrea Stella, Norris, and Piastri were to race again in Barcelona today, it would cause a lot of trouble for Verstappen in the race.”
He added, “However, Red Bull is managing the budget to unbalance it on the RB20.”
Nevertheless, McLaren, with a new wind-tunnel and deep resources, wants to take that next step. That means challenging Red Bull and pushing for the win.
McLaren gearing up to threaten Red Bull
McLaren was once a very dominant team in F1. However, in recent times, they have fallen off over the last decade or so. Still, fans are excited because of their glimpses of resurgence.
Their last win came in 2021 at the Italian GP. After Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen took each other out, former driver Daniel Ricciardo won the race with sheer luck. Nevertheless, the Woking-based team with their new wind tunnel and new signings could return to regular winning ways soon.
Despite this, Red Bull will still be the favorite to win the championship next season. However, the level of dominance is expected to go down drastically. Therefore, it will be interesting to see how the British team makes use of their resources.
