According to Adrian Newey, Red Bull is not unbeatable
The design director of Red Bull believes that the Austrian team is not as unbeatable as it seems, despite a perfect race from both cars in Bahrain.
Just over a week ago, Red Bull had an explosive start to the season: Max Verstappen won without being challenged ahead of his teammate Sergio Pérez. The maximum points for the team. But even more striking: Red Bull showed a phenomenal race pace, to the point that none of its direct competitors, Ferrari and Mercedes, could compete. This announces a dominant season. However, according to Adrian Newey, the Red Bull team is not as untouchable as it seems.
The Red Bull engineer does not see himself as equally performing in every race: “I am sure we will not be as strong week after week. In Bahrain, things did not go as well on the inside as it seemed,” the Englishman says in an interview with Sky Sports. The chief designer of Red Bull emphasizes the importance of the wind tunnel in the car development program. He is referring to the 10% reduction in wind tunnel time, a consequence of the team’s budget overrun in 2021.
Before the start of the season, Newey had designated Aston Martin, in addition to Mercedes and Ferrari, as one of his direct rivals for this season. This statement seems accurate considering Fernando Alonso’s third-place finish. The Spaniard was practically matching the Red Bulls’ lap times. For now, he seems to be the only one capable of competing with Verstappen and Pérez, and perhaps even beating them. We’ll find out in Jeddah.
