Red Bull’s ‘too much’ RB20 admission as 2024 concept change decision explained

Red Bull’s technical director Pierre Waché has explained why the RB20 concept change was embarked upon, and why the car doesn’t appear as strong as RB19.

Having won all bar one race in 2023, the RB19 was always going to be a tough act to follow and, while Red Bull has made a quicker car in the RB20, victories have been much more difficult to come by as the competition has closed up in the third year of the ground-effect regulations.

Pierre Waché: RB20 is a better car than RB19

Speaking in an exclusive interview with PlanetF1.com , Red Bull technical director Pierre Waché opened up on the general feeling on the RB20 within the Milton Keynes-based outfit.

While a significantly faster machine than the dominant RB19, the RB20 hasn’t won any of the last four races before the summer break and no longer appears to be the standard-setter – McLaren’s MCL38 having taken huge steps forward in performance in both single-lap and race pace, and Mercedes ‘ W15 also appearing to occasionally have the legs on the RB20.

So while the RB20 represents a big step forward on its predecessor, the steps made by some of Red Bull’s opponents have been bigger – and Waché admitted that the inherent characteristics of the car haven’t quite worked out for race drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.

“I think we pushed the boundary a little bit high and, in some areas, maybe too much, and that has created some characteristics that are not designed for the driver,” he said.

“The success is coming, not by yourself, it is also coming by the relative performance to the others. Last year, we were fortunate that the others didn’t do as good a job as they have done this year, I think that is also an aspect we have to take into account.

“RB20 is a better car than RB19 – however, maybe we could do a better job and that’s what we are trying to fix for the end of the season and for next year, to give the driver a better tool to be able to fight.”

A common complaint from Verstappen has been a general unhappiness with understeer, and Waché explained that both drivers are experiencing the same fundamental issues on the RB20 with understeer and a general unhappiness with the balance a decisive factor in keeping the car from repeating the form of the RB19.

But how much of this comes down to Red Bull changing the concept of their car over the winter?

The RB19 had been a straightforward evolution of the successful RB18 but, fearing being copied by their rivals, the RB20 went for a mild revolution with a rethink of the platform – meaning some surprise at the start of the season given just how far ahead of the rest the RB19 had been.

But would sticking with the previous platform have kept Red Bull in the fight at all? At most circuits this year, the cars have been over a full second faster than last year, meaning the most dominant car in F1’s history, the RB19, would have been an also-ran this year – even with the stable regulations. Could Red Bull have found that kind of performance gain over the winter with evolution, or was the concept change needed?

“It’s difficult to say,” Waché said.

“I think, when you see the delta pace between last year and this year… it’s massive. The fact that we changed the concept gives us the possibility to take an extra step.”

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What Red Bull was most wary of was the aero testing time restrictions it faced – the team that wins the Constructors’ Championship starts the next season with the fewest hours of allowance for wind tunnel testing and CFD research.

“I’m not sure you’d have asked me the question after the first four races at the beginning of the year (Red Bull won four of the first five races),” Waché smiled.

“As I mentioned, the competition is tighter, and it is more difficult – with what we have in terms of aero development time compared to others and the tools we have – to be sure that developing the previous concept would give us the best results.

“When you want to make a step of performance, it is easier to find performance with less time than others on the aero side by changing the concept. That is why we took this risk. It doesn’t mean this was the correct one, I cannot answer that question to say what was the best choice. But it’s what we’ve done, for this reason.”

Having started the year with the fastest car, it’s the steps made by the likes of McLaren and Mercedes that have changed the complexion of the championship – the upgrades rolled out by these two teams appear to have gelled far more with their cars than the upgrades made by Red Bull.

Is it a case that, after two and a half years of these regulations, Red Bull is now bouncing off the glass ceiling of its understandings of the regulations to a greater extent than its rivals?

“I think it’s more difficult to develop,” Waché admitted.

“When we’re not the quickest, it means our limits are not the same as others and we have to find it. We have to find it, we have to do a better job.

“I think there’s no limit of development but what is true is the benefit and the gain you can have with development will be smaller now.

“Where we are currently, the car is not good enough to give the drivers the machine to win each race. I’m concentrating on that aspect – to make sure that we deliver to both drivers.”

But, with Red Bull and Verstappen still leading both championships ahead of a frantic 10-race run to the season end and facing an onslaught from an ever-closing McLaren, what are the intentions of the team with the RB20?

Is the goal to continue developing it right to the end of 2024 and evolve the car further for the ’25 season, or might another revolution be needed for the last year of the current regulations?

“At the moment, the idea is to develop this concept, develop this car as much as possible,” Waché said.

“Because the championship is there to be fought and we’ll try to win it – both championships.

“Then, next year, we evaluate the concept that we will put on track – that it will be different than this year, for sure, and try to find another step of performance.”

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