With their 2022 success already in the past, Red Bull are already pushing on with their newest Formula 1 car, the RB19.
The RB19 has a lot to live up to, with the RB18 having been the most dominant Red Bull challenger since they joined the championship in 2005.
Staggeringly, Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez claimed 17 wins between them this year, with the Dutchman being responsible for 15 of those.
Not only did Verstappen claim a second consecutive Drivers’ Championship, Red Bull claimed their first Constructors’ crown since 2013, the final season before the hybrid era began.
READ: Alpine reveal why they’re not switching focus to new power unit
Red Bull’s 2022 title was their fifth Constructors’ Championship, with their previous four having come in consecutive seasons from 2010-2013.
With the Milton Keynes-based outfit having claimed 77-percent of the victories this year, many sides will likely attempt to replicate the RB18’s design philosophy; however, they are likely to be left undone by the fact that the Austrians are looking to improve two areas on the RB19.
The first of those areas is weight, with Red Bull focusing on making their 2023 car lighter than the RB18 was at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.
Red Bull’s car was heavy for the majority of the most recent season, whilst Ferrari had achieved the minimum weight almost instantly, something which gave them a huge advantage for a lot of the season.
To put it into some context, Red Bull’s RB18 was over the maximum weight at the start of the year, meaning they had to focus on weight saving for the bulk of the campaign.
By making their car lighter from the get-go, the Austrians will have more time to focus on developing other key areas, especially with the edges of the floor having to be raised following a new FIA technical regulation.
Per RacingNews365.com, the RB19’s monocoque will be roughly three kilograms lighter than the RB18 version, highlighting Red Bull’s intent on saving weight.
READ: Guenther Steiner warns Stefano Domenicali about letting new teams enter F1
Even the team’s floor will be lighter next season, with the edges having been raised following the new FIA regulation as mentioned, which has been introduced to completely eradicate porpoising.
Red Bull managed to cover up their porpoising remarkably well in 2022, with the side having rarely suffered from the phenomena that rocked Mercedes in particular so badly.
The team are also tweaking their sidepods, with the cut-out’s underneath either sidepod set to be refined, with the RB19 set to be a true evolution of the dominant RB18.