Ben Waterhouse, Head of Performance Engineer at the Red Bull Racing team, has indicated that the team is already focusing on the 2025 season. The RB20, the machine with which Red Bull wants to defend the title this year, is already more than six months old, which means the team can already shift its focus. However, that does not mean that the reigning world champion is completely satisfied with the car for this season. There are still some improvements to be made, Waterhouse believes.
When the cars started the season in Bahrain last year, it quickly became clear that Red Bull had the fastest car in the field. During the year, Max Verstappen was able to prove that Red Bull had done a good job with nineteen victories. Due to the good performance of the Dutchman, the Austrian racing team was able to quickly shift its focus to the car of the coming season. Nevertheless, Red Bull also encountered problems in 2023.
‘We are aware that the RB19 had significant limitations. When we think back to Singapore, weaknesses have certainly emerged,” Waterhouse told Racecar Engeneering. The RB19 did not perform well at all on the Marina Bay Street Circuit. Both Verstappen and Sergio Pérez were eliminated in Q2. In the race, the drivers of the Austrian racing team did not get further than fifth and eighth place respectively.
The other races were all won by a Red Bull driver. Carlos Sainz is the only driver who managed to win besides Verstappen and Pérez. There is therefore satisfaction with the performance of RB19 at Red Bull. “There are areas we want to improve, whether it’s performance at high or low speeds. At the same time, our car had clear strengths that we want to strengthen as we try to address the critical issues.”
Red Bull already working on RB21
It is no secret that Red Bull quickly looked at the car for next season. It is said that the RB20 failed the RB20’s first crash test. That would mean that Red Bull is aggressively developing. ‘We set clear goals for the RB20. Overall we managed to achieve most of them. Still, I wouldn’t say everyone is happy as there is still some work to be done to try and improve the RB20.’
It remains to be seen what the competition can bring to Bahrain. Still, Red Bull is expected to dominate again, given its lead over the past season. The Austrian racing team is keen to maintain this lead, also in 2025. ‘The RB20 is a car that is at least six months old. We are starting to shift all our attention to the RB21, even if the season hasn’t started yet,” concluded Waterhouse.
