Red Bull surprised everyone with their vertical sidepod inlets when they had their launch last week. It had an uncanny resemblance to what Mercedes looked like at the start of 2023. After seeing the Silver Arrows failing in that concept, Red Bull’s move seems to be a huge gamble. Bernie Collins, who once was an engineer in the paddock with teams like McLaren and Aston Martin jokes about this being a ‘dummy car’ by the current world champions.
“May be suspicious so let’s see the car that rocks out on day one at Bahrain because I’m not sure. It’s going to be that car like this could just be a oh we’re just having a joke,” said Collins on the Sky Sports F1 podcast. In response, Matt Baker phrased it as a “dummy car.”
“Yeah exactly so so I’m I’m highly suspicious,” said Collins further. She also said that Red Bull had no need to make major transformations from last year’s concept. Considering, everything was going well for the team which lost only one race last year. They had no reason to discontinue the work which did wonders for them.
Adrian Newey, who is the chief technical officer at Red Bull and whom many believe to be the mastermind of the current Red Bull dominance, calls it an evolution of last year’s car. Moreover, he credits his team for adding an immense amount of innovation.
The drivers also got to look at the car when the Red Bull livery launch happened. And the initial feedback by both drivers has been somewhat affirmative of the actions done by their team.
Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen are impressed by Red Bull
Autosport quoted Perez calling the RB20 a “brave” move by his team. He, like others, reiterated that Red Bull has a cushion with their last year’s dominance and had no need to make major reforms in the concept. For him, this shows the immense amount of hunger his team has for excellence.
On the other hand, Verstappen got a peek inside the new design three months before the fans, and he revealed his initial reaction. He claims that he was amazed by the new design and was pleased to witness a move away from being conservative.
Both drivers agree that the RB20 first needs to hit the road before all the hype around it. Though, experts tout Red Bull as the favorite to win the title at this stage of the year, a radical change can indeed bite back.
Meanwhile, there is excitement around the new concepts by Ferrari and Mercedes. Also, McLaren’s late rise in the season has also aroused expectations. Lastly, the current car designs are expected to be transferred into 2025 as it will be the last year of the current regulations. Thus, making mistakes even more unforgiving.
