The 2023 season came bearing an unprecedented level of success for Red Bull and the RB19, who won all but one race all year. The team’s only defeat came in Singapore, where they got the car’s setup wrong, leading to both their drivers exiting the qualifying session in Q2. Addressing the same, Max Verstappen pointed out the biggest flaw in their near-perfect car.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Autosport, Verstappen talked about how the street circuits and low-speed kerbing were some of the biggest issues the RB19 had to deal with. Furthermore, the Dutchman admitted to Red Bull still not being the best of the bunch.
“Mainly I think just street circuits and low-speed, kerbing. These kind of things, I think we are not the best at the moment.”, stated Verstappen.
Verstappen’s comments wereput in front of Red Bull’s Technical Director, Pierre Wache. While the Frenchman agreed with the three-time champ’s assessment, he suggested Red Bull will need to be careful to not sacrifice the best qualities of the RB19 when rectifying the shortcomings in the RB20.
Low-speed reliability, 90-degree corners, and the car’s ability to ride bumpy tracks are some elements the team needs to work on, according to Wache. These are similar traits that benefit cars on street tracks like in Singapore when the Milton Keynes team struggled. Thus, this may be one of the objectives that RBR will look to rectify these aspects for 2024.
Despite the one flaw, Max Verstappen was full of praise for his team
Following the end of an incredible season where Verstappen broke one record after another, emotions overcame the Dutchman as he reflected on his time with the RB19 during his victory lap in Abu Dhabi.
The three-time world champion also took the opportunity to express his gratitude towards his team and teammates and appreciated them for all of their hard work throughout the year, often under challenging circumstances. “I have to say a big thank you to Red Bull, it’s just been an incredible year.”
The 26-year-old further spoke about potential difficulties Red Bull will face next season as he believes it will be near-impossible for them to reciprocate their performance of 2023. However, the Dutchman’s current focus is on enjoying his time off from the tracks with his friends and family before he starts preparing for the challenges that will come in 2024.
