Red Bull: 2021 car development and 2022 program a 'difficult juggling act'

Red Bull's Adrian Newey admits that pressing on with the evolution of this year's car while simultaneously developing its all-important 2022 contender has become a "difficult juggling act".

F1 teams have been hard at work for many months now on their 2022 machines that are being designed around an entirely new set of technical regulations.

Indeed, the majority of teams have either completely stopped the development of this year's car or, like Mercedes, are implementing their final updates to their 2021 design.

But Red Bull's position at the top of the championship's standings has encouraged the Milton Keynes-based outfit to keep on pushing and to extend the development of its RB16B to as far as it possibly can without compromising its 2022 program.

However, the task is proving a big challenge for Red Bull's design guru and chief technical officer.

"It's such a difficult juggling act in truth," Newey told Sky Sports F1. "The regulation change for next year is the biggest one I'd say since 'venturi' cars were banned at the end of 1982, so it's a huge change and we've got to put the effort into that.

"But obviously we've got a chance at the title so we've got to keep pushing and it's all about that juggling act.

"The others are pushing hard, we're pushing, and we're only just a third of the season, there's such a long way to go."

Assuming F1 succeeds in holding 23 races as scheduled, the current season is still two races away from reaching its half-way mark.

Mercedes is expected to give Red Bull a run for its money at Silverstone, a track that has been one of the Brackley squad's most favourite hunting grounds since the beginning of the hybrid era in F1.

• Read also: Ferrari fears 'set-up mess' for teams at Silverstone

Max Verstappen, who leads arch-rival Lewis Hamilton by 32 points in the Drivers' standings is expecting a big challenge from Mercedes at the British Grand Prix.

But even if the Dutchman enjoys a fourth consecutive win this weekend, the Red Bull charger insists it will still be a long road to Abu Dhabi and to a potential maiden title.

"It’s not over, it’s still a very long season, we are not even halfway," he told Sky Sports.

"Of course so far I think we have been doing a great job, but Silverstone I think is one of these tracks where they [Mercedes] have always been really good at.

"But again in France, we had been struggling there in the past, and I think we were very competitive there, so it’s all about bringing upgrades."

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