Theories Behind Red Bull’s Performance Drop Labeled as “Bullsh*t” by Team’s Engineer

Consistent issues with the braking system in the RB20 have haunted Red Bull’s 2024 season so far. Several experts have shared their theories on the matter, including famed F1 journalist Peter Windsor, who pointed out that Red Bull was using a rear cross-brake inertia valve in the early races of the season, which they had to remove in Miami – where their struggles began.

Peter Scarborough – a journalist who specializes in F1 technology – claimed that Windsor’s assessment made sense. But Red Bull’s mechanic Calum Nicholas, labeled these claims as “bullsh*t”.

Scarborough had suggested that a return of the Newey fiddle brake was also on the cards.

This makes sense and underlined by the tech reg change.
A return of the Newey fiddle brake, but automatic & creating a turning moment with the rear brakes.
A simple weighted valve in the rear brake splitter could do this.
Altering the effort between the calipers as the car turns pic.twitter.com/XY3onkG51w

— Craig Scarborough (@ScarbsTech) August 15, 2024

Aided by automation to create a turning moment with the rear brakes could do the trick for Red Bull, according to him. A weighted valve in the rear brake splitter could also aid the idea. Furthermore, Scarborough felt that altering the effort between the calipers when the car turned would benefit the Milton-Keynes-based team.

Nicholas, however, did not find the anecdote relevant. He took to X to respond to Windsor and Scarborough, and wrote, “I’ve been building the car for the last 14 races, he [Scarborough] hasn’t.”

I’ve been building the car for the last 14 races, he hasn’t ‍♂️

— Calum Nicholas (@F1mech) August 16, 2024

Red Bull received its biggest upgrade package of the season in Hungary, but still continued to struggle with understeer problems affecting them in the race. Max Verstappen was frustrated, and complained about the car not turning.

Red Bull knows it has to find a solution, as Helmut Marko pointed out during the summer break. Unfortunately, in this period, teams are not allowed to work on the cars. So, Verstappen will have to wait longer for the team to find a fix. And cannot expect respite at his home Grand Prix upon the resumption of the season.