Red Bull is currently a Formula 1 mirage with the other teams trying their best to reach them, but it is both an optical and technical illusion as they keep getting further and further away. Max Verstappen, Red Bull boss Christian Horner and grey eminence Helmut Marko, who like in a science-fiction film is defined as 'The Counciller' in his role as Motorsport Advisor, enjoy this dominance that has allowed the team to win 12 straight races and set a new F1 record in the process. They are superior to the rest of the field, they enjoy it and view it as normal and right. They don't hesitate to wield their hegemony as a psychological weapon. The latest example of this came in Budapest as the RB19 - unbeatable since Bahrain - arrived with not just developments but a revolution, as if to say that the team simply does not want to beat its opponents but aim for annihilation.
Red Bull firing on all cylinders
While the car remains firmly the one for 2023, it is also a trailer of what to expect for the 2024 RB20 machine - and it is a film that the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari will not enjoy watching. It is not even a question of just aerodynamics anymore. For Chief Technical Officer Adrian Newey to unleash his genius and imagination, it is because the technical excellence allows him to do so. Red Bull arrived in Hungary with a totally renewed profile of the sidepods, with the cross section of the air intakes so small that they look like letterboxes. This was particularly interesting as Hungary is usually one of the hottest races of the year where higher levels of cooling is needed, but the fact is, irregardless of the weather, the RB19's engine is effective at higher operating temparatures than the other power units. The power units are now produced by the in-house Red Bull powertrains, albeit with a lot of Honda know-how, meaning synergy has been optimised with Newey and his team, making integration a lot easier for Genius Adrian - and the absolute reliability of the package allows for even more ruthlessness.
Perez's unwitting 'help'
Many of the secrets of the RB19 lie with the floor, with Red Bull's opponents getting a great deal of help when an unsuspecting Monaco crane operator lifted Sergio Perez's car away after his crash in May. Photographers took repeated shots of the floor, and almost every other team has copied it - but then Horner and his team have given it another step foward. Maybe it is just to simply bully the other teams and show just how good the RB19 is, but also to use the second half of the 2023 season as a test and data collection run for 2024.
Side-by-side
Making a side-by-side comparison it is noticeable of the effect of the aero changes brought to the RB19 in Hungary (both, above). The inlet has a lip that extends towards the front, and vertically, it is also inclined upwardly. The whole lower profile of the sidepod has changed and has been raised so to increase the channel between the sidepods and floor. In addition, the lower edge of the sidepods are more rounded compared to the more-squared layout of the previous version.
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