Daniel Ricciardo has looked to cool speculation that the VCARB 01 is merely an RB19 copy-and-paste machine, claiming the Faenza team’s new Formula 1 car isn’t a “pink Mercedes.”
The newly rebranded squad had a strong end to the 2023 season, its last as AlphaTauri, when it adopted a similar development path to Red Bull.
RB is now defined as less a Red Bull junior team and more one fighting for its own objectives.
That has led some to speculate that the VCARB 01 is simply an RB19 replica, like Racing Point’s RP20 was in comparison to the 2019 Mercedes W10, but Ricciardo has said that isn’t the case.
“We’ll get our answer in 48 hours, but I think some people think it’s that and we’re going to be the Aston of last year or the Pink Mercedes of a few years ago,” the Australian said Wednesday.
“Let’s see, I would love to surprise myself and be fighting for a podium.
“But I would say once we get the result on the weekend, people will calm down a bit.”
Racing Point, now known as Aston Martin, turned heads when it debuted its RP20 car at the start of the 2020 F1 season.
The car was competitive and bore a striking resemblance to the title-winning Mercdeds W10 of the previous year, drawing plenty of criticism from its rivals.
In regards to legality, it was eventually found that Racing Point had illegally used Mercedes’ brake duct design on its own vehicle – a component listed as one teams’ must manufacturer themselves.
This resulted in a €400,000 fine for Racing Point and a 15-point deduction in the Constructors’ championship, plus an overall clampdown on copy-cat designs.
Ricciardo says anything within the VCARB 01 that is Red Bull-esque is done so within the regulations and nothing more.
“Obviously, we do have some components that we’re allowed to use and things like that,” he said.
“But it is not to the level that I think some people are thinking or hoping or whatever.”
With a podium place finish not on the cards amid Ricciardo’s dismissal of RB not forging its own unique design, it raises the question as to where the team will sit in the pecking order in Bahrain.
As AlphaTauri, RB finished eighth in the Constructors’ standings in 2023 with a haul of 25 points.
Ricciardo’s teammate Yuki Tsunoda admitted that his first impression of the VCARB 01 during a filming day was the car was a step beyond its predecessor.
After pre-season testing, the team’s rivals see RB being ready to challenge at the front of the midfield and maybe even toward the front of the grid.
Ricciardo has ruled out the latter, but he has set his target for the weekend of challenging for points.
“I want to say after testing we have a bit of an idea the gap to the leaders,” Ricciardo said.
“Ok, give or take probably a few tenths but knowing that it’s still, I think a pretty big gap, I wanna say I’m realistic that I think there is some teams that fit inside that gap, you know.
“If we could leave here with Q3 and points, I think we’d be very happy.
“Do I stand here now and say we’re definitely going to be Q3 and points? I’m still a bit unsure honestly.”
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