Red Bull Technical Director Pierre Wache has denied the team had to change its car following an asymmetric braking system ban during the 2024 Formula 1 season.
An amendment to the technical regulations ahead of the Miami Grand Prix outlawed the use of asymmetric braking systems in F1.
That coincided with Lando Norris’ ascension to victory with McLaren and the start of Red Bull’s struggles.
After having a relatively easy start to the year, Red Bull had been caught up and although Max Verstappen won three of the next four races after Miami, he was run close on all occasions before going on a 10-round winless drought.
That prompted speculation Red Bull had been running an asymmetric braking system before Miami, but Wache told Autosport that this wasn’t the case.
“We didn’t change the car; we didn’t change the way we set up the car, so it looks like it’s more the others that did a big change instead of us,” he said.
“But to be fair, in Miami we should have won the race,” Wache added, which is fair considering a fortuitously timed Safety Car handed Norris the advantage in Miami.
“However, we were not the quickest any more,” Wache continued.
“We were even and clearly something changed in terms of what was done, especially by McLaren.
“They were able to have less tyre degradation than everybody else and their package seemed to work very well afterwards.
“I don’t know what they have done, you have to ask them and not me.
“But I know about ourselves and what we have done with the car. The behaviour of the car was similar to what we had in China.
“We brought an upgrade in Suzuka and in China and those things were working very well. In Miami, we were more or less there but during the race, we saw that McLaren found the sweet spot in terms of their performance.
Wache concluded: “The car didn’t change, just to make it clear. There was also nothing fundamental in the car set-up either that could explain why we were slower.”
Wache ‘surprised’ by Red Bull’s rivals
The 2024 season surprised many, including Wache.
After Verstappen won seven of the first 10 races, he went without a victory in the next 10 as McLaren and Ferrari threw down a challenge.
Wache didn’t let outside criticism or speculation affect him, however, with internal pressure to succeed more than enough motivation.
“I think we were more surprised by the step of the others,” he said.
“Also if you see what they have done [with updates], it was not massive… it was more that the whole car came together, so it was a very big surprise.
“[Speculation] doesn’t affect me. It doesn’t change the fact that every weekend I have the pressure to deliver the best car and that the team has the pressure to deliver the best car to win the race.
“The speculation and what happens around it doesn’t change the way you react to things.
“I have enough pressure and I don’t need to create anything more for myself.”
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