Red Bull urged 'not to hold back' after finally understanding major F1 issue

Former F1 driver Sebastien Buemi has urged Red Bull not to "hold back" this season after finally discovering the cause of its headaches last year. 

Red Bull simulator driver Buemi received significant praise last term from team principal Christian Horner after the 36-year-old spent many hours during grands prix weekends trying to solve the issues with the RB20.

Whilst Max Verstappen still clinched a fourth consecutive F1 drivers' title, the team's defence of its constructors' crown from 2023 was unsuccessful, albeit primarily due to the shocking form of Sergio Perez. 

Along the way, though, the Milton Keynes-based outfit encountered flaws with the RB20, which Buemi claims have been understood and solved ahead of the new campaign. 

With a huge regulation change looming next year, Buemi has stressed the team must again work hard over the coming 24-race campaign.

"My input has been the same," Buemi explained in an exclusive interview with RacingNews365. "But I think it's very, very complex to explain what didn't go well.

"As a team, we understand now what the issue was [with the RB20] and what was maybe not developed in the right way. 

"Now it's just about making sure that we don't hold back and understand exactly where it went wrong, and make sure we don't lose too much time because in F1, the six months of development is massive.

"But this year, it's a very complex year, because you have completely new regulations for next year.

"[This year] you have to work on two cars, the '25 car, and you have to work on a '26 car. That is totally different. So at some point, it's [about] how you want to share the resources."

Red Bull up for title fight

The new power unit regulations being introduced next year has created a fascinating dilemma for the teams regarding when focus should switch to designing their car for the new era. 

According to the former Toro Rosso driver, some teams have already done so, unlike Red Bull, which Buemi has insisted is far from the case yet.

Explaining Red Bull's plans, he said: "We focus on both years. We're not going to give away a championship just like that. 

"But at some point, somewhere in the year, if you feel like you can't achieve much in the season, you're going to switch the focus a bit. 

"Some teams have already switched focus to '26. We try to develop both, but at some point there will be a compromise."