Horner admits Red Bull RB20 has got ‘big shoes to fill’

In a confident yet cautious comment, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has revealed that the outfit’s 2024 car is reaching its development targets, but admits its new RB20 has got “some big shoes to fill” given the incredible success of its predecessor.

Since the advent in 2022 of F1’s new ground effect regulations, Red Bull has been in a league of its own, claiming successive Constructors’ and Drivers’ championships in the past two seasons by a wide margin.

In 2023, Red Bull suffered but a single defeat in 22 races - courtesy of Ferrari and Carlos Sainz in Singapore - as its technical superiority coupled with the brilliance of Max Verstappen allowed it to crush its rivals.

And Red Bull’s opponents, while they are working tirelessly to bridge the gap with the reigning world champions, are bracing for another demonstration of force from the Milton Keynes-based outfit thanks to the stability of F1’s rule book.

Horner confirmed that Red Bull has been working to refine "all aspects" of its RB19, aiming to further enhance its performance and maintain its competitive edge.

• Read also: Horner assesses Red Bull’s quartet of 2024 challengers

However, while early development assessments and simulator work have been positive, the Briton remains mindful of the unpredictability of Formula 1 and prefers to approach the season with caution.

When asked by Planet F1 if its new RB20 design was meeting the targets initially set by Red Bull, Horner said: “I think as far as targets can be, yes”

“We don’t have a lot of pre-season testing these days, we’ve got a lot to focus on and to get done, but it’s always a busy time of year in the factory in the planning stage for the season ahead.

“There are always challenges along the way but, if you’re not on the limit, you’re not trying hard enough,” he added.

Red Bull sim driver Jake Dennis fired a warning shot to Red Bull’s rivals as he provided some early very positive feedback on RB20.

But Horner says that only a full-scale track test will provide clarity on its new car’s true potential.

“[The sim drivers] are saying it’s evolution, not revolution – it’s a simulator, and still a virtual world,” he explained.

“So, of course, you want a correlation between track and simulator, which has tended to be reasonable over the last couple of years.

“Hopefully, we’re making progress. But the stopwatch never lies and we’ll only see when we get to the track.”

Both Verstappen and Red Bull CTO Adrian Newey have spoken of certain aspects of last year’s car that required more attention, and Horner confirmed that a few weaknesses lying under the car’s hood had been given proper scrutiny.

“Only time will tell, I mean, the RB19 is the most successful car in the history of Formula 1, so [RB20] has got big shoes to fill,” he commented.

“But there are always things that you’re learning in this business.

“RB19 still had elements that we could improve and the team have been working hard to do that and address that over the winter in the design phase.”

In terms of gains, Horner was typically reluctant to go out on a limb and predict how much Red Bull had potentially extracted from its new charger.

“I think it’s impossible to quantify,” he said. “Let’s see when we go to the track.

“It’s all meaningless if somebody has made a leapfrog and you’re three-tenths behind. It’s all subjective at this time of year.

“I’m sure that everybody is focused on trying to beat us this year, and why wouldn’t they be?

“We can only focus on ourselves, the factory is very busy at the moment as we gear up for a big year with a record number of available events and races.”

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