F1 News: Red Bull Boss Confirms Faster RB20 For 2024 - “We’re Making Progress"
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner offered an update on the development of the team's 2024 title contender, revealing that the new car, which is an "evolution" of the RB19, is quicker as per simulation data. However, he wishes to confirm this only after the car has done sufficient lap times to prove the claims.
In the 2023 season, Red Bull asserted its dominance on the Formula 1 grid by securing victory in 21 out of the 22 Grands Prix. Despite missing out on one race, specifically the Singapore Grand Prix won by Ferrari's Carlos Sainz, the team aimed to address the imperfections in its new car to potentially bridge the gap.
But as the other teams also develop their cars in full swing, especially with Ferrari and Mercedes revealing fresh approaches being adopted in their development, there is much anticipation this year to observe if Red Bull receives a formidable challenger.
Speaking ahead of the RB20's launch on February 15, Horner revealed that the new car has been meeting the team's targets. He told PlanetF1.com:
“I think as far as targets can be, yes.
“We don’t have a lot of pre-season testing these days, we’ve got a lot to focus on and to get done, but it’s always a busy time of year in the factory in the planning stage for the season ahead.”
Evolution, Not Revolution
However, he does not intend to solely rely on simulator data for the car's pace and thus, revealed that only a race track could reveal actual track times. He added:
“[The sim drivers] are saying it’s evolution, not revolution – it’s a simulator, and still a virtual world.
“So, of course, you want a correlation between track and simulator, which has tended to be reasonable over the last couple of years.
“Hopefully, we’re making progress. But the stopwatch never lies and we’ll only see when we get to the track.”
Horner revealed that the RB20 has got "big shoes to fill in" after RB19's staggering success. He said:
“Only time will tell, I mean, the RB19 is the most successful car in the history of Formula 1, so [RB20] has got big shoes to fill.
“But there are always things that you’re learning in this business.
“RB19 still had elements that we could improve and the team have been working hard to do that and address that over the winter in the design phase.”
When he was asked to reveal an approximate figure on how much time the new car had gained over its predecessor, he said:
“I think it’s impossible to quantify.
“Let’s see when we go to the track. It’s all meaningless if somebody has made a leapfrog and you’re three-tenths behind. It’s all subjective at this time of year.
“I’m sure that everybody is focused on trying to beat us this year, and why wouldn’t they be? We can only focus on ourselves, the factory is very busy at the moment as we gear up for a big year with a record number of available events and races.”
