Five victories out of five appointments, enhanced by four braces. Red Bull’s tally at the start of the season, as well as the superiority shown on the track, is one that could potentially place the RB19 in the roll of honor of the most successful cars in Formula 1 history at the end of the championship.
Undoubtedly, the road to get to Abu Dhabi is still long, but it is clear that Red Bull’s amazing start has left all opponents surprised, so much so that even George Russell had not hidden his fear that the Milton Keynes team could win every Gran 2023 award.
The RB19 has its roots in the RB18, a car that won both titles last season, also guaranteeing Max Verstappen the chance to win his second world title. If already at the end of 2022 the car of the Anglo-Austrian team had shown that it had an edge over its rivals, this year the gap has widened further, so much so that in the race at times the RB19 was able to count on an advantage of one second at the lap on the most direct opponents.
An advantage which, in part, is certainly also due to the fact that Ferrari and Mercedes modified their respective projects during the winter break, encountering problems and doubts that they are still trying to resolve. On the contrary, Red Bull started from a solid foundation and on that basis they have managed to build a car which is now at the top in every area.
The superiority of the RB19 surprised even the Milton Keynes team itself, exceeding their wildest expectations: “Yes and no. At the beginning of the season, the first three races, yes, definitely. But you have to be pragmatic because there are still twenty races to complete, the others will push and things can change quickly in Formula 1. We just have to keep pushing and see where we are at the end of the year,” Adrian Newey explained in an interview. released by Red Bull on the eve of the Monaco Grand Prix.
The RB18 proved to be a solid basis on which to design the car for the following season. It is no coincidence that many rival teams then took over some aerodynamic concepts from Red Bull 2022 to propose them again on their 2023 cars. According to Newey, having identified the concept that has a good margin for development was one of the key elements for success of the Anglo-Austrian team.
The RB18, the car that led Red Bull to both titles in 2022
Photo by: Erik Junius
“2022 was a really important change of regulations, the biggest since 1983. From a chassis and aerodynamics point of view, it was a huge change. I have to admit that I was initially a bit disappointed, but then the regulations were revisited under the pressure of the teams and the more we went into detail, the more we understood that there was more freedom than we had thought,” said Newey, one of the most successful and respected engineers in the history of Formula 1.
“This has resulted in the fact that at the start of last year the cars were quite different from each other which is always good for the fans who can identify the cars not only by their livery but also by their shapes. In particular, I would say that we had a concept, Ferrari had a slightly different but also broadly similar concept [al nostro], Mercedes had a completely different concept called the zero sidepod. When you start development, at some point you have to make a decision about which direction you’re going to take. We decided ours, the others theirs. You’re never sure which one has the most potential.”
“You have a vision of what you are developing thanks to the wind tunnel and CFD. You try to combine these various elements together and hope you have achieved the fastest package. When you’re down that road, unless you have clear problems, you try to stick with it and, so far, the concept looks good.”
A comparison between Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes
Photo by: Uncredited
The RB19 shares many points in common with the car of last championship, but has been revised in many small aspects, in order to “smooth out” those elements that had limited the RB18, from weight to front end management: “The RB19 compared to the Last year’s RB18 is a detailed evolution, we’ve improved those areas we weren’t happy with. The car was still overweight and even in terms of handling there were some aspects we were not satisfied with. This year’s car clearly has many aspects in common with last year’s, but it has improved in many details”.
When we talk about Red Bull’s success, we often refer not only to Adrian Newey, but also to a prominent technical group, so much so that several teams have tried on several occasions to bring the engineers of the Milton Keynes team into their ranks. According to the British, one of the strengths of this team is also its culture and its approach, with a horizontal structure that allows the circulation of ideas.
Adrian Newey, Chief Technology Officer of Red Bull Racing, on the grid
Photo by: Alexander Trienitz / Motorsport Images
“We try to maintain a horizontal structure. Clearly, like any organization we must also have an organization chart, a pyramidal structure, but in the technical departments we try to encourage having a horizontal structure where engineers can communicate with each other. We try to minimize the number of meetings, sometimes they are a waste of time. We also encourage people to talk to each other, not just email each other, maybe even over coffee.”
“The important thing is that everyone stays informed as much as possible, continue to dialogue. Also because this is where so many ideas are generated. You have to have a culture where people feel confident proposing an idea, following it. If at some point they don’t work and don’t make the car faster, of course you have to put them away, but if they do, great.”
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