The new era of Formula 1 provided a stern test to the design teams up and down the paddock, as the new set of rules allowed teams to get creative, while trying to work out what would work best with the new era of F1 cars.
While the likes of Mercedes got their designs horribly wrong with the uncompetitive W13, Ferrari and Red Bull appeared to master the new rules very quickly as they went on to produce some of the fastest cars ever seen on a racetrack.
Red Bull technical director Adrian Newey has created some stunning pieces of machinery over the years, winning titles with Williams and McLaren before joining Red Bull almost two decades ago.
Newey was responsible for designing the cars which brought Sebastian Vettel so much success during the German’s time with Red Bull, but he has made now claimed that the RB-18 is the best car he has ever produced for the team.
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“Statistically, obviously the RB-18 has been our best car,” he claimed.
“It’s a car I think we can be very proud of in as much as we had a tight championship battle through 2021, and arguably we put too much resource into that, so you’re not putting it into this brand-new car with the new regulations we knew were coming.
“It’s a difficult balancing act. We focused on trying to get the fundamentals right, including front and rear suspension, the layers and the radiators,” concluded Newey.
Max Verstappen, who won a stunning 15 races out of 22 last season, has echoed Newey’s thoughts on the RB-18, claiming that the teams hard work following a tough battle in 2021 allowed the team to dominate the following year.
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The Dutchman has revealed that Red Bull’s slow start to the season was down to the team not being able to reduce the weight of the RB-18 in the early stages of the season, explaining that his car was massively overweight compared to the lightening quick Ferrari.
After the team managed to reduce the weight of the RB-18 and quickly solve the porpoising issue that most teams were suffering with under the new regulations the team went on to dominate both championships and complete the double.
Winning 77.2 percent of races over the course of the season, Newey’s statement is correct that the RB-18 is the most successful car that Red Bull have ever produced, and the team will be looking to continue their success into 2023.