Red Bull Racing’s misery was carried forward to Canada from Monaco. Despite the win thanks to Max Verstappen’s individual brilliance, the RB20 still faced a lot of difficulties. The Austrian outfit was expecting to struggle on the kerby track in Montreal. However, their setup changes were not adequate enough to iron out the drawbacks of their stiff suspension.
The reigning champions’ sister team, V-CARB did not face the same problem. This is exactly why Helmut Marko in his column with Speed Week confessed about taking a closer look at the VCARB-01.
V-CARB has been making steady progress this season. They’re currently the lower midfield leaders with 28 points. In fact, the Faenza-based outfit is just 30 points behind Aston Martin in 5th.
The VCARB-01 was rapid all weekend in Canada as well and saw Daniel Ricciardo qualify in P5 and finish eighth. Based on this output, Marko has confessed Red Bull will make use of their close working relations with V-CARB.
“In general, our car is not the best at driving on kerbs. We reacted by coming to Canada with a softer basic setup. But that was not enough. After the Racing Bulls’ car was very strong in this regard in Montreal, we are currently taking a closer look at where Red Bull Racing might have made a mistake. I believe we are on the right track to make progress soon in terms of front suspension,” he wrote.
There will be some tracks that will suit the RB20 better. Marko suggested the upcoming triple header in Spain, Austria, and England are some of those circuits. The classic tracks will allow the RB20 to spread its powerful wings and make Verstappen and Perez’s life earlier. Or at least this is the 81-year-old’s perception. Even if it isn’t the case, they are prepared to tackle the competition.
Red Bull has upgrades in the pipeline to tackle the increasing competition
In the third year of regulations, the grid is closer than ever. Every circuit suits one team better than the others and makes them the one to beat. After enjoying the level of dominance Red Bull did in 2023, this is an unfavorable scenario. So, moving forward, the reigning champions have planned some upgrades that hopefully put some distance between them and the others.
In his column, Marko wrote, “The competition has made up ground, no question about it, but we are not worried. There are further improvements to the car, which are promising based on the data.” However, nothing is a given as the data did not translate to the track in Canada and Singapore back in 2023.
Although, Red Bull bringing upgrades is still an intimidating thought for all rivals. They plan to get some breathing room between them and the rivals. Which at the moment is at a suffocating proximity, especially on the constructors’ table. The upcoming tripleheader could be season-defining on some fronts and an eye-opener.
