Max Verstappen and Pierre Waché believe Red Bull must be better on urban tracks
Red Bull finished the season with a total of 860 points. Despite this achievement, the team noted areas for improvement for next season.
The RB19 has just concluded an extremely dominant season. The Austrian stable has won 21 of the 22 Grand Prix, 19 of which were by Max Verstappen. The only race that slipped through the red bulls is the Singapore Grand Prix. Nevertheless, both Red Bull drivers started from the middle of the grid.
In many races, Max Verstappen also finished several seconds ahead of the second. The RB19 crushed all competition, and no single-seater was able to catch up at the end of the season.
Weaknesses identified by engineers and pilots
With the RB19, Red Bull set numerous records, notably that of the best wins/races ratio in the history of F1. However, Max Verstappen has identified some areas of improvement for the RB20. « I think we mainly need to focus on improvements for urban circuits and low-speed corners », the Dutchman told AutoSport. « I don’t think we are the best at the moment in these two areas. »
Red Bull’s technical director, Pierre Waché, also notes the same areas of improvement as Max Verstappen. « The team observes this same weakness, perhaps from a different perspective than that of Max as a driver, but this more or less well summarizes the areas on which we need to work for next year », said the Frenchman at the end of the last race of the 2023 season in Abu Dhabi. « In low-speed turns, we are also not the best, as you may have noticed during qualifications in Baku or Singapore. Our ability to ride on sidewalks and bumpy tracks is also not perfect, and we need to improve this area. »
Do not compromise the strong points
The main strength of the RB19 is its top speed. In a straight line, despite the DRS, few drivers have managed to overtake a navy blue single-seater. Sergio Perez was the most affected. However, his significant lack of confidence throughout the season nuances the overtaking performance of a Red Bull. If the area of improvement has clearly been identified by the Austrian garage, the technical director warns against potential impacts in the event of drastic changes to the RB20.
« You can improve the overall potential of something, but most of the time, this also impacts other aspects of the car », explained Pierre Waché. « We need to be very careful not to compromise our main strengths. This is what we are trying to do: improve our weaknesses without compromising too much the strengths we have. »
Red Bull is at two consecutive constructors’ titles, ending Mercedes’ seven-year domination.
