Red Bull technical director Pierre Wache has revealed that the RB19’s biggest weakness is “low-speed tracks”, something which appears to be true based on their performance at last weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix.
After going 15 races unbeaten, the Austrians winning streak came to a crushing end on Sunday at the Marina Bay Circuit, where Max Verstappen finished fifth with Sergio Perez in eighth.
It was the first time this season where Red Bull haven’t been at the top of the pecking order, a position they’ve comfortably held all year.
To the shock of the paddock, the side were around fourth or fifth in pecking order in Singapore, which resulted in the Austrians not featuring in Q3.
Want to work in Formula 1? Browse the latest F1 job vacancies
Both Verstappen and Perez were dumped out in Q2, with no Red Bull featuring in Q3 for the first time since the 2018 Russian Grand Prix.
The Austrians simply struggled for pace throughout the weekend, although they were aware ahead of the Grand Prix that they’d be weaker than usual.
This doesn’t overshadow the fact that the RB19 has been unstoppable for the vast majority if 2023, although Wache isn’t sure if it’s the best car the side have ever built.
“It has been a very competitive car since the start of the season, I think that is the big difference with previous Red Bull cars,” Wache told GPFans.com at the Italian Grand Prix.
“Is it the best of them all? I don’t know. It’s very difficult to judge, but we started the season very strongly compared to other Red Bull cars.”
Wache went onto discuss how low-speed tracks are the RB19’s weakness, especially over one-lap.
This wasn’t seen in Monaco, where Verstappen won from pole position.
However, their woes at low-speed circuits was on full display in Singapore, where the RB19 just looked incredibly unsettled.
READ: Feud between Christian Horner and Toto Wolff escalates
“I think it’s obvious that on low speed tracks we are not the best in qualifying,” he added.
“That’s where we are limited compared to others. Compared to what we show in the race, that can damage our overall performance.
“For example, if you are not on pole in Monaco, it is quite difficult to win the race. That is clearly something we need to work on for next year.”