Max Verstappen asserts that low-speed cornering performance and handling over kerbs are the two outstanding areas Red Bull must improve with its 2024 Formula 1 car.
Red Bull obliterated the competition last season with an evolution of the title-winning RB18, racking up a record-breaking total of 21 wins from 22 races to retain both titles.
However, the Austrian outfit was denied a clean sweep in Singapore, when set-up struggles with ride height opened the door for Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz to snatch victory.
While Red Bull Chief Technical Officer Adrian Newey was clear the team had grasped an understanding of those troubles, he admitted it had “exposed weaknesses” of the RB19.
“We know our weaknesses in the car,” Verstappen concurred with Newey. “That’s what we’ll try to work on plus, of course, trying to make our strengths even stronger.”
Verstappen highlighted how Red Bull tended to be less competitive in slow-speed turns, which was amplified on street circuits by the car’s difficulty in navigating bumpy surfaces.
“Look at our race weekend in Singapore. In general, on street circuits, I think we are a bit struggling a bit more like in Vegas also,” the Dutchman, who won 19 races in 2023, added.
“Low speed is definitely not our strongest point in the car; bumps, kerbs as well. So that’s definitely a big area where we can improve.”
Although Red Bull Technical Director Pierre Wache agreed with Verstappen’s viewpoint, he has warned that any enhancements must not come at the expense of weakening the side’s prowess in its many areas of strength.
“The team sees that same weakness, maybe in a different perspective than Max because Max is [a driver], but it’s more or less summarised quite well where we have to work for next year,” Wache told Autosport.
“Low-speed is clearly [one area]. 90-degree corners we are not the best, as you could see in quali in Baku and a different track. Singapore also was not a fantastic one.
“And also, our capacity to ride the kerbs and the bumpy tracks is also not perfect and we have to improve this area.
“In our system and in this business, you never have nothing for free.
“You can improve the overall potential of something, but most of the time it’s also affecting some other aspect of the car.
“[So], we have to be very careful not to destroy what we built in terms of strengths.
“It’s what we are trying to do – improve our weaknesses without compromising too much the strengths we have.”
