Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says Red Bull has taken a more secretive approach to its 2012 car, in an attempt to avoid giving away its ‘finer details’.
The outfit launched the RB8 online via a video stream, which Horner revealed was done intentionally to ensure its competitors didn’t have access to high-resolution images until the first test, giving them less time to study the new car.
“Instead with the presentation of our new car it was just an internet launch,” he told Auto Motor und Sport. “We didn’t want the competition to immediately photograph our car from all sides.
“At the launch last year, at the presentation in Valencia, 100 photographers were on the pit roof. In no time at all, everyone knew the dimensions of our car.”
He also hinted that some parts may have been kept back from the first test, to avoid a similar situation to last season when the outfit debuted its RB7 with a complex diffuser, which was subsequently copied by several outfits.
“Last year we had to show the blown-diffuser early, because we had to find out whether the exhaust gases heated the tire,” he added. “This time, the secret lies in the details. Because you don’t want to give the competition an early helping hand.”
