Red Bull Racing scripted history with its sheer dominance in the 2023 F1 season. The RB19 generated unparalleled speed through high-speed corners and was invincible with the DRS advantage. Undoubtedly, Max Verstappen made the most of the robust machinery to defend his championship title for the third time in a row.
Red Bull’s rise to glory has been an interesting tale for F1 fans to witness. After Mercedes dominated the sport for over a decade, the drink-based outfit came out of nowhere to not only challenge them but to dethrone the Silver Arrows to establish its own dominance. Meanwhile, Red Bull engineer Adrian Newey recently opened up about the changes that helped the team record a highly successful season in 2023.
Regulation Changes Enforced By F1 Ahead Of 2023 Season Helped Red Bull Achieve Enormous Success!
Barring a race in Singapore, Red Bull Racing won every single weekend on the F1’s 2023 season calendar. While Max Verstappen defended his championship by a comfortable margin of 200+ points, the team also clinched the constructors title. However, many wondered as to what led to a sudden surge in the drink-based outfit’s performance over the course of one winter. Meanwhile, Red Bull’s engineering wizard, Adrian Newey, recently revealed Red Bull’s secret to success. In an interview with Racing 365, Newey said that regulation changes enforced ahead of the 2023 season worked as a blessing in disguise for the team.
To cut down the bouncing and porpoising issue encountered by teams in 2022, F1 tweaked the floor regulations. As per the new rules, the rear floor’s width was increased by 15mm, and a 10mm diffuser height was mandated. While the regulation change was meant to solve the porpoising issue, many teams faced difficulty with managing the aerodynamics of the car at high-speed corners. Turns out, Red Bull Racing also feared the same. However, Adrian Newey knew that it wouldn’t hamper RB19’s performance to a large extent. “Our car was getting itself into problems at a very high speed, so actually, that reg change might suit us. So we didn’t really push against it too much,” said Newey. Well, the rule change did not only suit them but instead transformed RB19 into a beast.
Adrian Newey Not Fully Satisfied With RB19!
Turns out, despite having a historic season, Red Bull Racing’s Adrian Newey remains unsatisfied. The acclaimed engineer says he still sees room for improvement in the invincible RB19. While the car was much quicker than its peers, it struggled with braking issues occasionally. Also, the grip was off on many race weekends, which troubled Sergio Perez the most.
Thus, ahead of the 2024 F1 season, Adrian Newey wants to do better to eliminate those shortcomings. Having said that, the rivals, including Mercedes and McLaren, are working hard over the winter to pose as better competitors next season. With the peers confident of closing the gap, Red Bull surely has a target on their back and must move with extreme vigilance.