The innovations that Red Bull brought to Suzuka for the Japanese Grand Prix worked. At least that's what Helmut Marko, super consultant of the Anglo-Austrian team, author of the pole and the entire front row in today's qualifying, claims.
Let's be clear, the fact that the new components coming out of Milton Keynes bring improvements from a performance point of view is nothing new. It's just the latest confirmation of the capabilities of the men who work for the reigning world champion team.
This is a package aimed at improving the aerodynamic efficiency of the single-seater, relying on the modular cooling system which led to the division of the radiating masses into 4 distinct planes, each powered by independent intakes and vents. For this reason, the belly openings on the RB20 have been reduced, but small holes have been opened near the Halo attachment. The objective is to exploit the areas of greatest pressure to exploit the air and cool the radiant packs, thus making the system more efficient.
This time, however, the satisfaction in seeing the new parts work is more significant because, due to the rain, the team led by Christian Horner lost a session (Free Practice 2), not being able to fine-tune the RB20 in the allotted time. The results, however, arrived on time, and this meant that the RB20s annihilated the competition, at least on the flying lap.
“I think our updates have worked very, very well,” said a smiling Marko. “And we also did a great job managing all the new components despite missing an entire free practice session due to rain. We put together a good look, or at least good enough to do a one-two in today's qualifying.”
If qualifying went as well as possible, the race could present several pitfalls for Red Bull. Marko, however, although he sees a fight with Ferrari and McLaren, did not hide his sigh of relief at seeing Leclerc relegated to eighth place.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24
Photo credit: Mark Sutton
The Ferrari driver was the fastest in the race pace simulations, and his starting position tomorrow certainly won't help him. Suzuka is a track where overtaking is difficult to carry out due to its layout and the presence of only one DRS zone.
“I'm quite optimistic ahead of the race. Our closest rival in terms of race pace was Leclerc, who will only start from eighth position tomorrow. Yes, I'm optimistic. In the end McLaren also found good speed again. They did them and Ferrari. But, as said, Leclerc is quite far away, I must say. Thank goodness, I must say, because he was the fastest on the pace. It will be a fight between us, Ferrari and McLaren.”
Special mention, from Marko, for Sergio Perez. 12 months ago the Mexican was the protagonist of a weekend to forget, while this year he seems to have started the season differently thanks to a totally different set-up approach to that adopted in 2023.
“I think Perez went better than expected. Last year he had a bad weekend here, but this time he went quickly straight away. He stopped going his own way when it came to car set-up. Now the cars are almost identical in set up and this is making the difference.”
Sergio Perez, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Picture of: Motorsport Images
To conclude, the former Austrian driver indicated Carlos Sainz as the most dangerous rival for Red Bull in view of tomorrow's race. He and Ferrari are in good form, but McLaren also seems to have made noteworthy progress.
“If I have to name the most dangerous rival of tomorrow, I'd say Sainz. Because in the end overtaking here isn't easy. And when you start eighth as in the case of Leclerc you put stress on the tyres. Carlos is in incredible form at the moment”.
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