The gloom of the summer has given way to renewed optimism for the autumn in the Red Bull clan. The Austrian team, which has not won a single Grand Prix since Barcelona last June, had two more encouraging rounds at the Baku and Singapore meetings. After the defeat at Monza, where the two RB20s of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez were not even in contention for the podium, the team of Milton Keynes slowly returned to business in Azerbaijan and then in Singapore, where the Dutchman took 2nd place on one of the tracks he likes the least (no victory in Singapore in his career).
If the gap with the McLaren still seems important, like the gulf that separated Lando Norris Max Verstappen in Singapore (more than 20 seconds at the finish), Red Bull seems to finally discover the reasons for the RB20's problems for several races. "We have a development pipeline and I think we have figured out some of the issues with the car. I think we are starting to solve them. We were better in Baku [than Monza], we were [even] better [in Singapore].", underlines Christian Horner, Team Principal of the Austrian team.
Red Bull happy with changes in Singapore
In Singapore, fixes – which are not cited as developments – have been implemented on the RB20, and these have reportedly brought satisfaction to the Red Bull clan. “The car responded as we expected and as our tools were telling us. I think the team is seeing a direction to follow and understanding where some of the limitations are and what causes those limitations, which opens up avenues of development and avenues that hopefully will be productive., confides the British leader. I think what Monza really revealed is maybe part of the root cause of the problem. So I see Monza as our lowest point and we start building from there."
In response to McLaren's incredible performances since the start of the season, Red Bull has accelerated development at Milton Keynes and should bring a new package to Austin (October 18-20) to finish the season and defend its two world titles. On the evening of the Singapore Grand Prix, the Austrian team was already 41 points behind in the Constructors' Championship while, at the same time, Max Verstappen's lead in the Drivers' Championship fell to 52 points ahead of Lando Norris.
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Yves-Henri RANDIER
24/09/2024 at 05:09 a.m.
Identified the problem(s) of the monster RB20, possible ... but once again, it seems to only benefit Verstappen, TexMex being still absent! This can help to conquer a 4th consecutive title but for the Constructors' championship, the carrots seem more and more cooked with the transparency of the Mexican on duty