Many have noticed how the RB18 and RB19 have set a precedent, indicating the way for their opponents in creating the 2024 single-seaters with the precise intent of reducing a gap that has at times been rough shown in the last two seasons.
Red Bull, however, did even better, abandoning a winning path but considered to have reached the end of the line in development to take a risk. This, according to the technical director of Pierre Wache's Milton Keynes team, could still give Red Bull advantages, but how many? In his opinion, the improvement made by his rivals could be enough to bring the entire field closer in performance.
“I don't know if they understood what we did, but I think they understood it from what I saw in the development of their cars,” Wache told Motorsport.com.
“Even if it's not exactly the same path, because I'm sure we're not right everywhere, they've found their own path in the sense that you develop a tool, or certain development paths, based on the problems you have and based on your understanding “.
“So maybe they found other things that could be very interesting. It's interesting to be able to work with three and a half flaps on the front wing element [come la Mercedes]having a greater amount of outwash”.
Pierre Wache, Race Engineer, Red Bull Racing, Helmut Marko, Consultant, Red Bull Racing, in the garage
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
“They found a different path. I'm not sure they know exactly what we did, because if you copy without understanding, to me it's useless, but all the competitive people in this industry are following a path that is to their advantage.”
The form shown by Red Bull's new RB20 in testing in Bahrain last week has left many convinced that the team will be the team to beat for the season opener – and could have an even bigger lead over last year
But Wache is not so confident, and believes that Ferrari, in particular, has left the Italian team as a potential challenger. Asked whether he thought Red Bull's lead had been maintained over the winter, Wache said:
“No, I don't share that opinion. I hope the gap is bigger, but I don't know.
I hope that first of all we will deliver a car that can offer good performance and then we will see where the others are at.”
“But to be honest, when I see the Ferrari [ritmo dei long run], they were very fast. So honestly, I don't know. The main concern is that this track is very specific. How can you adapt to other types of track with different problems? Here the rear is very limited. The surface is very specific. I think we will have a different challenge and I'm not sure it will be easy.”
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