Why extensive Red Bull changes in Australia are misleading

The car submission document for the Australian Grand Prix was, in many ways, quite misleading.

This is because it did not paint a representative picture of the changes - or lack thereof - teams have made since F1 pre-season testing in Bahrain.

Many developments had been considered brand new, only because the previous reference was the 2024 car from December's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, not because they were alterations following last month's test at the Bahrain International Circuit.

The most striking case was that of Red Bull, where extensive changes, 12 in total, can be practically reduced to five - or six, if we consider a slight variation of the curls of the front endplate to increase the out wash of the wing.

The Milton Keynes-based team actually introduced a completely new rear wing assembly which in detail corresponds to three changes, as they concern both the endplates and the profiles and the beam wing.

Even the modified louvres on the engine cover is considered a change, if only when factoring in the asymmetry between the right and left side.

However, very little is completely new, except - as mentioned above - for the curls at the base of the front wing endplates.

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With regards to the nose cone and the junction between the wing profiles and the nose, these were two different versions of the nose, one narrower and resting on the main profile of the wing and one flatter and wider, that had both already been seen in Bahrain.

Both versions were tested by the two Red Bull drivers in practice in Melbourne for a back-to-back comparison.

It is worth noting that the work done by the team, observing it directly in the pit lane at Albert Park, seemed decidedly better-planned and less chaotic than its attempt on the final day of testing in Bahrain.

In essence, it appears correct to argue that Red Bull is less confused about certain aerodynamic configuration choices than it was during testing - a signal that it should definitely not be underestimated, especially in relation to the developments planned for the races following the Australian Grand Prix.