Adrian Newey shared his thoughts regarding the new car developed for the 2024 season, admitting that he is not entirely sure whether it will be competitive enough.
The RB20 will be the third evolution of the RB18 that the Milton Keynes-based outfit developed in 2022 when the regulations changed. Newey said that the first car was a good base to start with, and its second evolution -the RB19- actually surprised Red Bull, as the team did not expect it to be so dominant and fast.
Now, with a third evolution, Newey admitted that he is unsure if the team has taken a too-conservative approach compared to other outfits that might have gone for something bolder.
“Last year’s car was an evolution of ’22 in its main points being of course, the normal winter development in terms of aerodynamics, some understanding of what we needed to do with suspension to try to improve the car as well, and getting weight out of it, because we never got down to the weight limit in ’22.
“This year’s car is the third evolution of that original RB18. What we don’t know, of course, is the third evolution too conservative, while others have done something different? You just don’t know.”
Despite its great dominance last season, Red Bull’s engineer believes that toward the end of the year, the gaps tightened among the top teams. He admitted that on many occasions it was Max Verstappen who made the difference, and in 2024, with teams taking a Red Bull direction in terms of how to develop the car, the Brit thinks it’s going to be even closer.
“The grid was tight and the races were getting tighter. Austin, we were going to lose that. So we took a gamble and pulled Max in to do an extra stop, and Max did the rest.
“Vegas, to be perfectly honest, probably Charles [Leclerc] in the Ferrari was the quicker driver. Max made the difference there for sure.
“So by the end of the season, although we managed to win everything bar Singapore, everybody was snapping at our heels. So it doesn’t take much of a swing over the winter now. So there’s a lot of pressure.”