Red Bull Technical Director Pierre Wache said the team didn’t “specifically” design the RB20 for 2024 Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen.
Verstappen is fond of an oversteering car that works hard on the nose with a lively rear end.
That has generated a generation of twitchy bulls that Verstappen’s team-mates have failed to tame.
As Red Bull developed the RB20 in 2024, the team wound up with a car unbalanced from front to rear which Verstappen could cope with thanks to his elite talent, but Sergio Perez suffered dramatically winding up in his post-season dismissal.
“It wasn’t our intention to develop [the RB20] specifically for Max,” said Wache via The Race.
“But as a driver he can cope with less connected balance,” Wache continued.
“To make a quick car, by definition you go towards this.
“You still have the possibility to create an understeery car but it would be slower.
“Our job is to move away from this and then use the set-up to make it quicker.”
Verstappen’s car ‘like a cursor on a computer screen’
One of the many Red Bull team-mates to fall to Verstappen’s sword was Alex Albon, who despite enjoying an on-the-nose car, couldn’t cope with the extremes that the Dutchman can withstand.
“He has the car so much on the nose, it is so sharp, that it’s like a cursor on a computer screen with the sensitivity turned up to the maximum,” Albon said.
“When I got into the Red Bull there was so much nose on the thing that if you blew on the wheel it would have turned!”
Wache likes this analogy, saying: “I think Alex explained very well with his computer mouse comments.
“A few years ago in Budapest in practice, Max’s DRS didn’t close as he hit the brakes,” he added.
“But he didn’t fly off the road when he turned in – he just said it felt light on the rear.”
Albon dispels Verstappen-only Red Bull philosophy
Pierre Gasly, Albon and Perez have all failed to match Verstappen at Red Bull with all three suffering with the cars given to them.
That has fuelled the Verstappen-only design philosophy that many think Red Bull adopts, despite Wache stating otherwise.
Albon was asked about this very topic on the High Performance Podcast and dispelled the myth.
“The first thing is a lot of people say that car is built around him, that he’s like the Michael Schumacher of Ferrari and he’s created this team around him,” Albon said.
“But truthfully, the car is what it is. He is very quick. So what ends up happening is, he has quite a unique driving style and it’s not that easy to get along with.
“I would say my driving style is a bit more on the smooth side. But I like a car that has it good front end, so quite sharp, quite direct. Max does too.
“But his level of sharp and direct is a whole different level. It’s eyewatering.”
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