James Key, technical director of Stake F1 Team, is confident about the upcoming season. The Brit notes that the team has made some good choices and with those choices the racing team must take a big step in 2024. Stake F1 Team has also copied Red Bull Racing, but that does not mean that the team will suddenly make a big leap. will make just like McLaren did in 2023.
In addition to a completely new livery, Stake F1 Team also unveiled a new car. The details were immediately clear and these details also give the team a good dose of confidence. ‘We’ll be hitting the track at the end of the week, so we’ll learn more then. For now we are very happy with the data we see,” Key told Formula1.com. ‘That’s all relative, of course. We did well, but that can also apply to everyone else. We don’t really know anything until the first race, but we expect a good step.”
In 2022, the then Alfa Romeo also started the season well, but lost some performance as the year progressed. The Swiss racing team already has a clear development path to ensure that the car remains competitive. “The aggressive strategy we implemented over the winter will likely continue throughout the season. We are also going to bring new parts for the first race, so the car will look very different again.’
Stake F1 Team switches to pull-rod system
Stake F1 Team also looked at the competition. Red Bull and McLaren were the only ones to use a pull-rod suspension at the front wheels. The Swiss racing team has copied this philosophy. When a tire goes over a bump, the wheel pulls the torsion spring through the tie rod, pulling the rod outward from the chassis. That is a difficult concept according to Key, but it is better for the aerodynamic concept. ‘The team had already decided that before I even arrived. It was absolutely the right decision.”
Trust within Stake F1 Team
Stake F1 Team therefore hopes to take a step, together with the other teams in Formula 1. The major teams are all looking at Red Bull Racing. Alessandro Alunni Bravi thinks it will be a more exciting season, but that Red Bull will still have an advantage. “Of course Red Bull is not our target,” the team representative is quoted by RaceFans. ‘We want to compete with Williams, Racing Bulls and Haas. These are our direct competitors and we want to take that step. We are not happy with P9.’
Valtteri Bottas also has confidence for the coming season. The Finn knows that the team has to take a step and he expects this to happen. “My own expectations are high,” the driver told Motorsport Week. ‘We certainly have to take a good step compared to last year; a season in which we honestly did not meet the goals we set for ourselves. Seeing all the changes that have happened in the team is what gives me this confidence.”
