What if Red Bull's "bad" end to the 2024 season was a blessing... for 2026?

A bad thing… for a lot of good? Certainly, Red Bull lost his Constructors' crown, finishing only third in the championship behind McLaren et Ferrari, but she may have gained something else elsewhere. That something else is time. A lot of time. And in Formula 1, it goes without saying that time is precious! Indeed, thanks to its third place in the Constructors' Championship, Red Bull is granted more time in the wind tunnel and in CFD (computational fluid dynamics simulation) than McLaren and Ferrari, as established in the sporting regulations of the discipline. And with a view to 2026 and the introduction of the new technical regulations, time will be very, very valuable in 2025!

Indeed, for several years, the teams have been granted a limited time in the wind tunnel and in CFD which corresponds to their ranking in the Constructors' Championship. This is defined twice a year: once for the period January 1st – June 30th based on the ranking of the previous season, and a second time over the period July 1st – December 31st based on the ranking during the season on June 30th. A coefficient is thus applied according to the position of the teams in the championship, on the following basis: 320 wind tunnel passages, 400 hours of wind tunnel occupation, 80 hours of wind tunnel operation and 2000 CFD tests over an ATP (Aerodynamic Testing Period), lasting eight to nine weeks.

Red Bull, 120 hours ahead of McLaren…

Thus, as indicated in Article 6 of Appendix 7 of the FIA ​​Sporting Regulations, with its third place in the Constructors' Championship in 2024, Red Bull will be entitled to a coefficient of 80% on restricted wind tunnel testing, while McLaren will be limited to 70% and Ferrari to 75%. This therefore represents a gap of 120 hours on wind tunnel use in favor of Red Bull (960 hours) compared to McLaren (840 hours) over the first three ATPs, which corresponds to the first six months of 2025. Red Bull will also be entitled to 768 wind tunnel runs, compared to 672 for McLaren and 720 for Ferrari. A serious advantage for the Austrian team, which will therefore have much more time to develop its car 2026… even if, let us remember, a new table will be established mid-season for the period July 1 – December 31.

This rule on gradual restrictions on aerodynamic testing in the wind tunnel, established to favor and help the least successful teams, will therefore have major importance in 2025, the year when the development of F1 2026 will be crucial. And that, Max Verstappen is well aware of it… "That's, I guess, a positive point, he had declared in Abu Dhabi on this subject. We won the drivers' title, we didn't win the constructors', so we gained a bit of wind tunnel time. In a way, maybe that's positive." Moreover, all teams have been allowed – since January 1, 2025 – to work on next year's car in the wind tunnel and CFD, and the vast majority of teams will switch the majority of resources to 2026 development very early in the 2025 season.

A third place not so handicapping…

Also, taking this into account, we could wonder and ask ourselves if Red Bull did not voluntarily take its foot off the gas at the end of the 2024 season to ensure more time in the wind tunnel in 2025. Did the Austrian team, which secured the Drivers' title at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, two races before the end of the season, sacrifice its end of the championship to secure 3rd place in the Constructors'? Could this be the implicit reason why Sergio Pérez was kept until the last Grand Prix of the year despite abysmal performances? Obviously, it is difficult to put this forward as the financial stakes are even higher, where each position gained in the championship can bring in several million euros. However, with the departure of Adrian Newey and the difficulties encountered in the development of the RB20, Red Bull obviously had every interest in obtaining additional time in the wind tunnel... See you in 2026 to find out whether this was beneficial to them or not!

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