Synopsis
Adrian Newey, the legendary designer in Formula 1, has voiced concerns regarding Red Bull Racing's struggles with the RB20 in the 2024 season, suggesting that the team's lack of experience contributed to their ongoing driveability issues.Key Takeaways
- Adrian Newey raises concerns about Red Bull Racing’s RB20 issues.
- The team’s inexperience may have led to unresolved challenges.
- Verstappen won the Drivers’ Championship, but McLaren took the Constructors’ title.
- The RB20 exhibited driveability problems from late 2023.
- Set-up changes alone cannot fix fundamental design flaws.
New Delhi, Feb 3 (NationPress) Adrian Newey, the iconic designer in Formula 1, has expressed his worries regarding Red Bull Racing's difficulties with the RB20 as the 2024 season unfolded, indicating that the team's lack of experience may have hindered their capacity to address crucial driveability challenges.
In an interview with Auto Motor und Sport, Newey—who is set to leave Red Bull in early 2025 to assume the role of Managing Technical Partner at Aston Martin starting March 1—voiced his apprehensions about the team's development path and their handling of the car's escalating issues.
Entering the 2024 season, Red Bull was the defending champion following an extraordinary 2023 season, where Max Verstappen achieved 19 victories out of 20 races, leading the team to dominate both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships.
The season kicked off similarly, with Verstappen winning seven of the first ten races. However, as the season unfolded, competitors like McLaren and Ferrari quickly narrowed the gap, resulting in a significant shift in competitive dynamics.
While Verstappen secured his fourth consecutive Drivers’ Championship, McLaren ultimately claimed the Constructors’ title, with Ferrari surpassing Red Bull for second place.
Newey noted that the RB20 started revealing handling issues towards the end of the 2023 season, and these complications persisted into 2024.
“From my perspective, the ‘24 car and even during the final phases of ‘23 was becoming increasingly challenging to drive,” Newey remarked.
Although Verstappen adapted to the car's difficult nature, his teammate Sergio Perez faced considerable challenges, which widened the performance gap between them.
“Max could manage that; it wasn’t ideal for him, but he could cope. Checo couldn’t, which resulted in a noticeable performance disparity between the teammates.”
Newey acknowledged his worries about the situation but suggested that Red Bull's inexperience in tackling such issues might have led them to persist on a flawed development path.
“I was beginning to be concerned about this, yet it seemed that not many within the organization shared this concern. From my external viewpoint—though I cannot be certain—the team at Red Bull, with no intent to criticize, perhaps continued down the same route due to lack of experience, causing the problem to escalate to the point where even Max found it challenging to drive.”
When asked if Red Bull had explored addressing the driveability concerns through adjustments rather than a fundamental redesign, Newey conceded that while set-up modifications can provide some relief, they do not fully rectify inherent design flaws.
“Set-up can temporarily mask issues, but the core problem remains,” he clarified. “To me, set-up is about optimizing the car's characteristics… but it primarily complements those characteristics rather than resolving a fundamental problem.”
His remarks imply that Red Bull's difficulties in 2024 stemmed not solely from rivals catching up but also from internal missteps in managing the RB20's growing driveability issues.
After announcing his departure from Red Bull last May, Newey gradually distanced himself from F1 projects, shifting his focus towards the RB17 hypercar. However, his extensive experience in creating championship-winning vehicles will soon benefit Aston Martin, where he is set to join on March 1 as Managing Technical Partner.
