Max Verstappen has rebuffed any assertions that Red Bull have emulated aspects of Mercedes’ recent challengers in their creation of the RB20.
The reigning champions stirred some intrigue upon revealing a new car with engine gulleys reminiscent of those seen on the W14.
In the dominant 2023 season, Red Bull clinched victory in an astonishing 21 out of 22 Grands Prix, propelled by the engineering marvel of the RB19, securing Verstappen the championship.
Conversely, Mercedes grappled with extracting consistent performance from the unpredictable W14.
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Thus, when chief designer Adrian Newey declared the RB20 as an ‘evolution’ of the title-winning 2023 car, few anticipated the unveiling of a new challenger seemingly drawing inspiration from Mercedes’ design philosophy of the previous year.
The unexpected selection of a low-profile sidepod design by Newey and the team contrasts with Mercedes’ departure from that concept, surprising other teams on the grid, many of whom have adopted a design philosophy closely resembling that of the RB19 for the 2024 campaign.
“I saw the drawings I think in Abu Dhabi, the last race, and I was like, ‘wow, that’s quite different in a way’. They’ve not been conservative, let’s say it like that.
I think what I like about the team is that we had a great package, but they took the chance to really go all out, I would say, and try to make it better.
“Of course, time will tell if it’s really, really good.
But from what I see within the team everyone is just happy with what they have achieved in the winter.
But then again, we don’t know.
We can’t control what other people did.”
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Christian Horner also dismissed any such claims, stating: “It’s not tactical, it’s based on performance and what we’re seeing through our simulation tools.
“Obviously, the car looks quite visibly different in certain areas to last year.
“Only the stopwatch will tell, but in a virtual world we wouldn’t have committed to this design if we didn’t feel it was better.”