Max Verstappen asserts that Red Bull has not been “conservative” with the development direction the team has taken on its 2024 Formula 1 car despite its recent dominance.
Red Bull has been the pre-eminent force since F1’s return to ground effect aero in 2022, with the squad winning all but one race last term as it retained both championships.
Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner issued that he expects several rival teams’ cars this season to resemble the dominant, title-winning RB19 machine from 2023.
Despite stating it was bidding to “evolve all aspects” for this year, Red Bull has plumped for some aggressive design choices that could threaten to raise the benchmark again.
The RB20 has reversed its sidepod inlet shape to adopt an overbite style and has also taken inspiration from the Mercedes W14 with deep gulleys in the engine cover.
Verstappen, who took a record-breaking 19 victories last season, has warned the opposition that Red Bull has not rested on its laurels when it comes to its latest creation.
“I’m quite happy with I think the direction that they chose,” Verstappen told media including Motorsport Week at the unveiling of Red Bull’s 2024 car at its Milton Keynes base.
“I saw the drawings I think in Abu Dhabi, the last race, [and] I was like, ‘wow, that’s quite different in a way’. And they’ve not been conservative, let’s say like that.
“I think what I like about the team is that we had a great package, but they took the chance to really 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 winter. But then again, we don’t know. We can’t control what the other people did.”
The decision to implement some ambitious and radical innovations to a strong platform could cause some unexpected issues to arise that derail Red Bull’s momentum.
But Verstappen contends he has faith in Red Bull’s engineering department, fronted by technical genius Adrian Newey, to have not taken any risks that could backfire, stating: “There are no signs that we got it wrong.”
“I think it’s controlled aggressiveness,” he added. “So everyone is just happy. It doesn’t seem like it’s a question mark of what they’ve done, like, they’re not entirely sure.”
When asked about Red Bull deriving inspiration from Mercedes with its engine cover and sidepods, Verstappen addressed that he would “still call it a Red Bull style”.
Red Bull utilised one of two filming days ahead of the reveal to shakedown its car at Silverstone, with Verstappen and team-mate Sergio Perez present to share driving duties.
Questioned to describe the impression he gained from driving the RB20 for the first time, Verstappen answered: “Slippery! It was wet and cold. But everything was fine.
“It’s literally just the filming day, the car started up well, it’s about just making sure that once they’ve put the car together that everything is running, because basically from there, the car basically gets sent to Bahrain. And that’s where it really starts, you really start to learn more about the car, you put the proper programme together, and you do a lot of different kinds of running.”
