Racing Bulls boss Alan Permane has indicated a “top-line” Formula 1 driver could extract maximum performance from its car, amid sister squad Red Bull‘s current issues.
The Faenza-based satellite outfit of Red Bull has put up some impressive displays this year, placing itself firmly in the midfield battle among Williams and Aston Martin.
Its VCARB 02 challenger has enabled Liam Lawson to score points, having failed to in two outings with Red Bull, as well as Isack Hadjar, who has enjoyed a stellar debut campaign.
After a tricky opening weekend in Melbourne, the team has consistently scored points and is now on 45 – just one less than its 2024 total.
Permane has stated that, despite uncertainty in pre-season testing, the early indications of the VCARB 02 were positive and therefore enabled natural development/.
“It’s something we have worked on over the winter, and then we realised that we had a nice car to drive,” Permane, who succeeded Laurent Mekies, told Motorsport.com.
“But until you start competing, it’s difficult to judge it. Through that Bahrain test we were never quite sure.
“After that we were pretty confident, because we ran with quite a lot of fuel that week.
“When we got to the first races, we realised what we’d done, and that helped lead the rest of the development for this car.”
Verstappen would prefer ‘not to talk about’ Racing Bulls test
Lawson’s case is a curious and recurring theme in which a member of the satellite squad has struggled once making the move to the main team.
Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon are other examples of making the grade from the team, then known as Toro Rosso, but being sent back once they failed to adapt.
And with Yuki Tsunoda now struggling in the RB21 alongside Max Verstappen, the theme continues.
Albon previously placed his theory on why this is a common occurrence, stating that the sister team has always produced a more benign car that’s “forgiving” for rookies.
When asked about the supposed positive driveability in the car, Permane denied that this was a deliberate aim, but indicated it would enable a more established driver to perform in it.
“No, I don’t think so, honestly,” he replied. “I think it’s what we discovered over the winter from last year to this year.
“We made a car, and you’re right, it undoubtedly helps when you have rookie drivers, but I suspect it’s a car that a top-line driver would also find comfortable to drive and would also be able to extract the performance from.”
The VCARB 02’s performances have inevitably led to conversations about whether its data can be transferred to Red Bull to enable Verstappen to extract more from the RB21, amid his comparatively poor season.
Verstappen could, in theory, test the VCARB 02, via the allocation of ‘filming days’ that all teams are afforded.
However, teams are only given 200km to run their cars on these days, and have to run on tyres that are not race-spec.
But Verstappen appeared to mostly rule out any possibility of this, saying, after being asked whether he would consider a Racing Bulls test: “Well, let’s not talk about that.”
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