RB Formula 1 boss Laurent Mekies has revealed the team is “sharing what we can” from parent company Red Bull within the realms of what the current regulations authorise.
The Faenza-based squad’s troubled opening to the previous season prompted an announcement that it would begin to establish a closer alliance with Red Bull.
This commenced with the addition of Red Bull’s rear suspension in an upgrade package to Singapore which helped the team rise to eighth in the Constructors’ Championship.
Since then, Red Bull’s shared ownership has come under vast criticism from rivals, with McLaren CEO Zak Brown encouraging F1 and the FIA to investigate the “serious issue”.
However, the rebranded squad has pressed on with plans to utilise more components from Red Bull and has adopted the pull-rod front suspension from the championship-winning RB19 on its VCARB 01 challenger.
Mekies, who has replaced the retiring Franz Tost at the helm, underlines that Red Bull has been doing its due diligence to understand the extent its two teams can collaborate.
“We’re in a situation where we have an owner of two teams and naturally we’ve asked, ‘What can we share?'” Mekies told Motorsport.com’s Italian publication.
“We should share. We are reviewing the regulations and sharing what we can.
“But on the other hand, we are pushing as hard as we can to prepare ourselves to fight for bigger prizes.”
RB will also expand its presence in the United Kingdom with a planned move of its aero department from Bicester to Milton Keynes, where Red Bull’s operation is based.
While working between two factories in separate countries might’ve previously been viewed as a hindrance, Mekies believes that the benefits now outweigh any negatives.
“For a long time we had two offices: Faenza and Bicester. The Bicester departments will move to the new facilities in Milton Keynes. Historically, having two headquarters has always been a disadvantage. But it’s 2024, the world has changed dramatically,” Mekies, formerly Ferrari’s Racing Director, explained.
“The way people interact is also changing. We want to make things work. We want to make our company a company without locations.
“If tomorrow a department is split between Faenza and Milton Keynes, we think that’s fine. It’s a challenge, but we think it brings with it a lot of benefits: we can hire the best people in the UK and we can hire the best people in Europe.”
But Mekies has tempered expectations heading into 2024, conceding that the Italian outfit’s aggressive development drive last year could put it on the back foot initially.
“We developed the car until the latter part of the year, so the starting point [of this year’s car] is not very different from what you saw in Abu Dhabi last year,” he highlighted.
“Along with all the profound changes we are making, we will try to find our new path and pace of development, which we hope will take us to a better place.
“But we are aware that the initial phase of the season will probably be quite tough, given how we pushed at the end of last year and how profound are the changes we made this winter.
“It is natural that this will push the correct development towards the end of the season. It is a conscious choice that we have made, even if in the short term it could be harmful.
“We are trying to build a new project and build it for the long term.”
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