Max Verstappen sent shivers down the spine of his competitors with an ominous statement about Red Bull's newest weapon: the RB20.
Following Red Bull and the Dutchman’s banner 2023 campaign, marked by the latter’s 19 wins and third world title, Verstappen is already the clear favorite for 2024.
And his assessment of the RB20 – and his performance on the opening day of testing in Bahrain – only fuels that fire.
"For sure the car is better than last year's car, but I think everyone on the grid has a better car than last year,” Verstappen said.
"The team believes with how the car is at the moment there is more potential to find. That's now for us to unlock.”
Verstappen’s last comment is perhaps the most chilling as it suggests that the RB20 might just be the tip of the iceberg.
Red Bull has room for improvement, and with their track record of innovation and development, unlocking that potential could be devastating for the competition.
Red Bull wasn't afraid to shake things up for the 2024 season. Opting for a bold new car concept, they aimed to stay ahead of the ever-evolving competition.
©RedBull
Asked if he was surprised to see his team, which had been such a dominant force last season, push the boundaries with the design of its RB20, Verstappen said: “Well, at the time I wasn't even too concerned with that to be honest.
"I saw the drawings and thought, 'So, that looks nice', but honestly I was thinking more about the upcoming holidays at the time!
“In the end, it doesn't matter what the car looks like either. But what I do like a lot about the team is that they haven't been conservative, and that they have pushed the limits again by changing the concept.”
Red Bull’s investigation of the zero-sidepod design approach unsuccessfully exploited by Mercedes has added a surprising twist to the RB20's concept.
Verstappen is clearly unfazed by the comparison, emphasizing his faith in his team’s own vision of the bold sidepod conception.
“I fully trust what the people in our technical team are doing,” he said. “They are confident that this is better than everything else that they have tested in the wind tunnel over the winter.
“As long as it works, I don't even care what the car looks like.”
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