Former Red Bull driver David Coulthard has disclosed that the RB20 shakedown went as planned, admitting that they only tested a “launch iteration” of the car.
Two days before its formal introduction, Red Bull completed a shakedown at Silverstone of its 2024 F1 rival, the RB20.
The Milton Keynes outfit was the tenth and final team to reveal their new car, with the team’s aggressive, Mercedes-like design choices gaining the most attention.
Speaking to the official F1 website, he complained about Red Bull’s shakedown. “Just that it performs as expected in those conditions – no surprises.”
I think the technical team were happy with the numbers they were getting in terms of… the things you can get out of that, the cooling and load sensors.”
The Scotsman stated that Red Bull will bring a number of modifications to the first test, and that further new parts may be introduced for the season opening in Bahrain next weekend.
“Even if you went out and thought the car was amazing in a shakedown, the only thing that matters is Saturday qualifying and ultimately Sunday race [at the first round] in Bahrain,” he said.
“It’s a launch iteration… there will be upgrades coming to the test up until the last day and there might even be an upgrade that comes for the Friday of the Bahrain race, and all of these upgrades are expected to change performance, balance and lap time.”
Red Bull had a great 2023 season, winning 21 of 22 races.
Ferrari was the only team to stop them from going undefeated for the entire season, but the battle behind Red Bull frequently switched between four different teams.
Coulthard is unsure which team will be Red Bull’s closest competitor, citing Ferrari, Mercedes, and McLaren.
“I don’t have a crystal ball, but you’ve got to believe Ferrari had a strong car last year in terms of single-lap pace,” he said.
“If they’ve improved on whatever was making their race pace difficult, they’re a serious contender.
“Mercedes made significant progress towards the end of the year…” McLaren has moved from the rear of the grid in Bahrain to the front of the grid in Abu Dhabi, indicating significant growth over the course of the year.
Leave a Reply