Red Bull become the last team to unveil their 2024 challenger as they look to follow up on the most dominant car in F1 history.
In terms of their livery the RB20 unsurprisingly shares the same look as its predecessor. However, from an engineering perspective it appears at first glance to be a more aggressive version of the car that won all but one race in 2023.
Adrian Newey has been the architect of Red Bull’s greatest cars throughout its time in F1, and whilst the team’s Chief Technical Officer is confident about the car going into the new season, he is weary that F1 is by no means a static sport, and there is always a risk that other teams will catch up.
“We have to keep pushing. By the end of the year, the grid was getting tighter for sure. Max did an amazing job. So we’ve had to push over the winter.
“We know roughly what we’ve done from the shakedown at Silverstone. It seems to have, from what we can tell, behaved as we expected it to. But that’s no guarantee of anything. It could be that some other team have made a bigger jump than us. We shall have to see.”
The launch event celebrated the team’s 20th anniversary of being on the F1 grid, and Team Principal and CEO Christian Horner is confident that the team is able to continue to build on what has already been a very successful two decades.
“This is a team operating at the peak of its powers and in Max and Checo we have two drivers who can deliver at every circuit, in any conditions, so I’m confident that, just as we have done for the past 20 years, we can compete for podiums, wins and hopefully more championships.”
The launch has been clouded by allegations of inappropriate behaviour against Christian Horner, with reports having suggested that an investigation has been launched into the matter. However, Horner denies the allegations, stating that they are a “distraction” for a team that is “very together”.
“We are one team. We are one group. The shareholders have been incredibly supportive of the team”
Max Verstappen enjoyed a record breaking season with the RB19, winning a record 19 wins in a single season, 10 of which were consecutive, whilst also leading over 1000 laps. Whilst domination to quite the same degree will be difficult for the Dutchman to match in 2024, he has already heaped praise onto the RB20, having described it as having been designed with “controlled aggressiveness”.
“We had a great package, but they took the chance to be innovative and go all out, I would say, and try to make it better.
“Of course, time will tell if it’s really, really good. But from what I see within the team, everyone is just happy with what they have achieved in the wind tunnel. But then again, we don’t know. You can’t control what the other people do.”
Now that Red Bull have shown of their new car, every team has now revealed what they will be driving ahead of pre-season testing in Bahrain, starting in just six days time.
