Red Bull could start with its 2011 car
The Red Bull team could well start the season in Melbourne with their 2011 car, modified to comply with the new regulations.
According to the magazine Auto Motor Und Sport, Red Bull could make this radical choice after the difficulties encountered with the new RB8 in Barcelona last weekend.
The main rivals of the Austrian team believe that it will once again be the team to beat in 2012. However, the latest specification of their car, unveiled in Barcelona during the last test days – notably with different exhaust outlets – does not fully satisfy the drivers and engineers.
Furthermore, it did not seem very fast on the track, as confirmed by an engineer from a rival team: « When I watched Mark Webber’s long runs on Saturday afternoon, nothing special was happening. Neither in terms of lap times nor in tire behavior. »
The drivers themselves are not more convinced by this new development. Mark Webber does not feel any major differences compared to the first version of the RB8 and as for Sebastian Vettel, who could only complete 23 laps before stopping due to mechanical reasons, he does not want to judge this development too hastily: “It wouldn’t be fair for me to judge these updates. We will rather rely on the data collected by Mark.”
Precisely, Mark Webber downplays the issues highlighted by other teams regarding the RB8: « The main thing everyone is wondering is whether we have made significant changes to the car. But I can tell you it is not very different from the one I drove last Thursday. We are following our usual program, nothing drastic has happened and we are just continuing to work in the right direction. »
