Upheavals, sudden changes of direction, U-turns? Trends that won't show up in Red Bull. The best in the class don't have to catch up. Instead, they aim to try to keep the performance gap as open as possible. In this attempt (no small task) the line of technical continuity will be fought. There RB18, the first “next gen” car, was a solid foundation, the RB19 its natural and dominant evolution. There RB20 will continue along the same conceptual path.
He has no other solution Adrian Newey, especially when the current regulatory context is about to run out. It would make no sense today to explore other paths. And it wouldn't be, even more so, if it is the group that has traced the path that everyone will want to follow to try to regroup the group. Performance convergence: this is the great technical theme of 2024. Hope for pursuers and masters of F1, a nightmare for those who would still like to have a sweet solitary escape.
The issue lies entirely in the following question: how much do the designers of Milton Keynes, in terms of performance, were kept in the pocket, last year, with a car that has been evolved, thanks to the mechanism ofAerodynamic Test Regulation and the penalty that further limited the number of working hours available, less than the competition? Strategic choice or project that has reached its climax and therefore offers less possibility of progression?
![Red Bull - Adrain Newey](https://www.formulacritica.it/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Red-Bull-Adrain-Newey-1024x574.jpg)
Red Bull: Adrian Newey playing hide and seek?
In the usual mechanism aimed at shifting the pressure to the opposing camp, the brilliant designer from Stratford-Upon-Avon fears that the second possibility could materialize precisely in the year in which almost everyone puts their Red Bull at the top of the list of title contenders. TO Talking Bulls, media coverage of the team, Newey reported that the RB20 it will be the third evolution of a project born in 2021 and materialized the following year in RB18.
The work done between 2022 and 2023, in terms of aerodynamic refinement, suspension improvement and above all weight reduction, will probably not be replicable today. In 2022 the car had never been under the mass limits identified by the regulation. Which instead happened last year with an RB19 which could be ballasted in strategic points, to the benefit of balance. The 2024 model will not be able to represent the same leap forward and this may not be enough to keep the return of fierce rivals at bay. At least that's the line Newey takes.
Pretactics? Perhaps. But the engineer seems sincere when he states that in 2023, therefore in the second season with the current regulatory framework, he did not expect such an advantage. It was logical to imagine that the rest of the grid would get closer, but instead a record year was born. Replicable? Difficult.
![Red Bull](https://www.formulacritica.it/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Red-Bull-1.jpg)
In a key passage Newey said he understood that for the nascent championship many rivals were taking a look at his car from last year. The suspicion, quite well-founded, is that we will see quite a few cars that will resemble the RB19. Whether these will work in the same way is another matter.
In any case, to Red Bull all that remains is to proceed on your own path by developing what you have. Also because the trap of budget cap it does not offer much margin for manoeuvre. A problem that at the same time can be an advantage given that its stringent nature also limits the opponents' recovery potential. The Austrian franchise's hopes of escape are based on this trend, which, despite going through a fairly tumultuous phase in its history, is by no means satisfied with victories.
Author: Diego Catalano – @diegocat1977
Photo credits: F1, Oracle Red Bull Racing