F1 | Stella: “When I saw the RB20 I was impressed”

After the first indiscreet glances during the filming day at Silverstone, there was great attention around the Red Bull, because the shapes suggested that there was something new that would surprise.

At the presentation of the RB20 that doubt remained, because the Milton Keynes team did not reveal all the cards, hiding some details that were only seen in Bahrain, such as the “shark mouth” for the radiators in the belly, to which is added a second vertical entrance on the sides of the frame.

This technical revolution surprised many opponents, who were instead expecting an extreme evolution of the RB19, the car that dominated the last world championship. However, Red Bull were clear: if they had continued on the same path, the risk would have been to see their opponents get closer, a consideration that pushed them to take a different path.

Even the opponents were amazed, starting with Andrea Stella, Team Principal of McLaren. According to the Italian, the Milton Keynes team was courageous in making such a major change to a package that had proven so effective last year.

“I have to say, when I saw the car I thought: 'Wow! They were brave to change some of the shapes that made that car so successful last year. I think last year they were able to have such an advantage that it gave them confidence from a timing point of view to take some risks, because you can take these risks at the beginning to see if it will work,'” Stella said.

“What I would like to say, however, is that while there is innovation, which we can see macroscopically, as I have already said, in these regulations the difference is made on millimetres. And a lot happens in the work that we don't see between the lower part of the car and asphalt. So, this change isn't necessarily the most impactful in terms of the step forward they've made.”

Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB20, Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal, Haas F1 Team

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

Both Stella and McLaren CEO Zak Brown had previously said they feared Red Bull would be able to make a big step forward in 2024, as the team had not had to focus efforts improving the RB19 over the course of of last season considering the large advantage available.

Clearly, Adrian Newey's staff has worked hard behind the scenes, because to make this package work several elements have been revised, including the cooling system, so peculiar that it also has cooling vents positioned in the internal part of the halo . An interesting detail, especially considering that in that area there is a lot of turbulence generated by the pilot inside the cockpit.

“I would say there are two elements. Firstly the design of the car, which has undergone a significant evolution that has taken time to develop. And I think this is the time that Zak and I were talking about [Brown]in terms of Red Bull not developing parts last year that were introduced on the 2023 car.”

“And the second element is the performance itself. It seems like they are very strong. So it seems like what they wanted to achieve from a design point of view has been achieved, and I would say it's mostly aerodynamic performance,” added Stella.

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

McLaren demonstrated a strong pace of development last year after a subdued start, which saw it battle from the back of the grid to victory in the Qatar sprint race. Despite what is judged to be a step forward by Red Bull, Stella remains confident that the team can make good progress with the MCL38, especially bearing in mind that, as already announced at the presentation, not all the technical innovations have already been mounted on the new Woking coach.

“Let's say that what we've seen in our development is that it seems like we're able to maintain the pace of development that we started last year. So, if we maintain this pace, I can't say that we'll get there [a prendere Red Bull], but I am more optimistic about the possibility of being competitive. Obviously, if Red Bull continues to develop at the same level, we will never catch them.”

“The important thing is to be able to maintain this development over time. And in our journey, if you think about what happened with the technical revolution and the reorganization of the team, not even 12 months have passed”, added the Team principal referring to all the changes that occurred last year.Also joining at the start of this season are Rob Marshal and David Sanchez, who will prove to be two more weapons in McLaren's arsenal.

“So it's a relatively short journey from that point of view, but I'm encouraged by what I see from a development point of view. Hopefully we can have it on the MCL38 in the first races of the season.”

Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL38

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

Last season, McLaren struggled with some aerodynamic aspects, such as chronic understeer in slower corners due to a front that wasn't as precise. Furthermore, the team also planned to work to improve rear grip in fast corners, an aspect where the MCL60 had already proven competitive during the year, in order to also refine tire management.

“I think some weak points have been improved. For example, we are more satisfied with the grip on the rear axle, which was one of the aspects we wanted to work on. In general, the car has greater grip. But there are some aspects we still need to improve. It's not a question of correcting the characteristics, but only of increasing the grip of the car, which mainly derives from the aerodynamic performance.”

“But we also have further margin for improvement from a mechanical point of view. And also in terms of interaction with the tyres. So in all three of these aspects, as I said before, aerodynamics, mechanics and interaction with the tyres, we have developments planned over the course of the season.”