Red Bull: "Wrong" to stick with current F1 design for new RB20 car

The Milton Keynes-based outfit has been in a class of its own throughout 2023, having won all but one grand prix so far as it captured both drivers' and constructors' championships.

But while its current RB19 still has a performance edge on everyone else, the fact that rivals like McLaren are giving Red Bull a harder time shows that the field is compressing up.

And ahead of a winter where teams like Mercedes and Ferrari are expected to make big changes to their cars, Red Bull knows it cannot get complacent when it comes to eking out improvements to its 2023 challenger.

Red Bull chief engineer Paul Monaghan has revealed that while the team will not unleash a radical departure over the current design for its 2024 car, it has to find gains if it is going to keep the opposition at bay.

"It would be wrong of us to just leave it alone because our opposition is getting a bit closer," he said.

"But the rules are quite tight compared to what we've had in previous years and with previous generations of car, where we could do a little bit more and move things around.

"It perhaps wouldn't surprise you if I said it [the 2024 car] will be an evolution of the current car, as it will be a bit foolish to throw this concept away.

"But equally, we've got to make some progress. We've got to find some lap time. The opposition is on us and if they do a step, then we'd better have a bigger step.

"But it [the RB20] carries over a lot of the lessons and benefits of the current car, and then from Bahrain next year, we'll see whether we've done a good enough job."

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB19

One bonus that Red Bull has with its 2024 car design is that it will have more wind tunnel time than it had for the RB19.

Last year, the squad was held back by a 10% reduction in wind tunnel and CFD running as part of its sanction for breaching the cost cap in 2021. That penalty has now passed.

Monaghan has echoed thoughts from other team members that the limits it faced last year taught it to be incredibly efficient with its work – something that will help it a lot even with more running.

"It forced us to look again at the efficiency with which we do tests in the wind tunnel environment and in CFD," he said.

"And whilst everybody has a restriction, everybody wants the efficiency, so that caused us to make some small improvements.

"I don't think they will be revolutionary, but any of those refinements we will keep as our benefit because, as we get a few more morsels of testing, then we use those morsels more efficiently."