Red Bull tease further concept change after success of new-look Adrian Newey design

Red Bull technical director Pierre Waché has not ruled out a further concept change at the team, should it prove to be even faster than this year’s RB20.

Red Bull shocked the field when they rolled out this year’s car for the first time and it looked visibly different to last season’s all-conquering RB19, but it appears just as competitive as its predecessor.

Red Bull keeping options open regarding further concept changes

Red Bull’s chief technical officer Adrian Newey has played down the changes made between this and last season, calling the RB20 a “third evolution” of the 2022 RB18 prior to its launch, before significant differences were apparent on the outside of the car.

In praising the current car, though, Waché explained what the Red Bull team behind the scenes has done to make the 2024 car another race winner – with Max Verstappen having won two of the opening three rounds of the season.

“Our aerodynamics team has done a fantastic job,” Waché told RacingNews365.

“They have developed the new package in such a way that ultimately there is more freedom to further develop the car within the current concept.

“Therefore, we don’t see the current concept as the ultimate version, but we have created further development possibilities.

“In addition, it is nice to see that everything works well with this concept and that the correlation between the simulations and the track also match exactly.”

But with stable regulations in place for this year and next before Formula 1’s big reset of the technical regulations in 2026, the consensus among the paddock appears to be that the cars launched in 2024 would have significant carryover for next season, as resources are placed into hitting the ground running for 2026.

That being said, Waché explained that Red Bull are keeping their eyes open to a new concept opportunity if one presents itself.

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“Even though the rules are the same for this year and next year, it doesn’t mean that we won’t be at the start with a different concept again next year,” Waché said.

“That all depends on what we find in the studies for the creation of the new car. If we see that another concept will give us a big advantage, then we will definitely go for that other concept.

“Looking back to last year, back then you knew there would be two seasons in the current regulations. So because of that, you also knew that if the concept didn’t work, you still had time to fix things. Therefore, you could take a risk.

“The natural process is that you continue on the basis of the current concept, but it is not out of the question that you switch to a new concept.

“You have to be open-minded every time. Standing still is going backwards in this world. That’s why we have to keep looking for how to improve ourselves.

“After all, what you manage to find new is what gives you the edge.”

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