Adrian Newey has stepped up his involvement at Red Bull Racing to try and help the Milton Keynes outfit lift the performance of its new-spec RB13.
Red Bull has yet to emerge as the threat to Mercedes and Ferrari it was expecting to be before the season kicked off in Melbourne.
The team's RB13 appeared to suffer at the outset from wind tunnel correlation issues and insufficient down force linked to its aero design, Newey's specific field of expertise.
The British engineer was on hand in Barcelona last weekend to get a better understanding of what is required to deliver a step-up in performance
"He has just been listening very carefully to what the drivers have been having to say and it is a bit like a trip to the doctors," said team boss Christian Horner.
"He has been very keen to understand what the drivers' feedback and comments are, and I am sure he will be looking to evolve this package accordingly.
"[Over the winter] he has been involved 50 percent of the time in the background of this car, but since the Barcelona test he has been very involved. I think that will continue for the time being."
In the past year, Newey has been mostly imbedded in Aston Martin's hypercar project but with his involvement there winding down, he has now switched his focus back to Formula 1.
"He has obviously been involved," added Horner.
"He has sat in the meetings weekly, he has been very involved in this development of the car and the concept of this car.
"The design group is designed to accommodate the way that Adrian works in a fairly unique manner."
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