Red Bull have worked overtime to ensure they can debut on the track with the updates seen at the Hungaroring. The original plan was for the Zandvoort round to be the weekend where the update package would have been available, but as Red Bull technical director Pierre Waché was keen to point out, “…our rivals are getting closer and closer, we have been called upon to take a step forward”.
The RB20 seen yesterday on the track with Verstappen was updated with the complete package, Perez’s with all the new features except for the sidepods and the new engine cover. The race against time did not allow us to have two complete packages available plus all the necessary spare parts.
Pierre Waché, Technical Director Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
One of the most interesting aspects that emerged from talking to the Red Bull technicians is that we are not facing a definitive new look for the single-seater. As is also happening in other teams, the more the development of this technical cycle is pushed to the extreme, the more the solutions become dedicated.
Digging for performance, the team technicians are landing in new territory, namely ad hoc configurations for different types of tracks. Talking about the new features brought to the track this weekend by Red Bull, it emerged that already next weekend at Spa the two RB20s could return to the previous configuration, namely the one that ran at Silverstone.
Sergio Perez with the Red Bull RB20 equipped with the bazooka that we will also see again at Spa
Picture of: George Piola
“It is a possibility,” Waché admitted, “in the end the goal is to have the fastest car in every situation. If the cooling requirements and the track characteristics push us to change, yes, we will. On each track we could use the solution that we think can be more efficient, but obviously we don’t know yet.”
In the paddock it is almost certain that we will see the previous version of the RB20 at Spa. “The real limit today is represented by the budget cap – an engineer confided yesterday in the paddock – otherwise I think the top teams would already have very substantial configurations available for high and low load, high and low temperatures, street circuits and so on. Once there were mostly only dedicated wings, today the volume of the components involved is greater, starting, obviously, from the bottom”.
Another aspect that involves the updates is the long-term planning of the work, in particular on the 2026 project. From next January 1st the teams will be able to dedicate themselves to the new car, so it is conceivable that the resources will be diverted in that direction.
Red Bull RB20: here is the new aerodynamic configuration entrusted to Verstappen
Picture of: George Piola
Pushing hard in the development of the current cars can also represent a bonus that will guarantee results next season, when the update programs will be reduced to the bare minimum. “The fact that the regulations in 2025 are stable and now quite mature in terms of the general concept of the car could influence this aspect,” added Waché, “but we still have to build the car for next year, so it is a bit premature. Then, as always happens, those who will be fighting for the championships will certainly bring all the possible updates to the track.”
#Waché #RB20 #configurations #depending #track