Red Bull’s shift of concept with its 2024 Formula 1 challenger, the RB20, has drawn comparisons to previous Mercedes designs and Toto Wolff has called it “an extremely courageous step.”
When the RB20 was unveiled at Red Bull’s Milton Keynes Headquarters on Thursday, February 15 and immediately turned heads thanks to its aggressive vertical inlet sidepod configuration and steep-shouldered engine cover.
Not only was it a surprise to see Red Bull make key visual changes to the dominant RB19, but also to see similarities between the RB20 and the il-fated concept cues Mercedes ditched from its W14 by the time F1 reached Monaco in 2023.
Wolff praised Red Bull for its commitment to making changes to a winning formula in the development of its new car.
“An extremely courageous step,” he told Austrian broadcaster ORF.
“Because if they had proceeded conservatively, they would have developed a really good car further.
“But the data will always guide you in the development, and the data will probably have shown that what they are doing with the new car, these new developments, actually brings significantly more downforce or better handling characteristics. Because otherwise, Red Bull wouldn’t have done it.
“And they have always been innovative in recent years, they were the team that was the benchmark. And in that respect, I’m convinced that they knew what they were doing.”
The Mercedes Team Principal isn’t immune to the comparisons between the RB20 and former cars produced back in Brackley but admits that the key differentiator in terms of performance with the ground effect cars in modern F1 comes from the floor.
In this regard, Wolff doesn’t believe Red Bull has made as radical a shift.
“Well, there are a few things that they have adopted from our car,” he said.
“Not just the zero sidepod, but of course we also had this bodywork engine cover, which we called ‘The Great Wall’, which they have adopted.
“It’s not marvellous aesthetically, but it makes sense.
“But the real performance takes place on the underfloor. These are ground-effect cars, where it’s also about the downforce and the mechanical handling characteristics.
“And that’s where they’ve been very strong in recent years, and there will probably have been a further development, but not such a radical change of concept as you can see at first glance with the bodywork.”
With the Mercedes W15, the Brackley-based squad has gone in what some may call a more ‘traditional’ direction in terms of car development and it is a radically redeveloped machine compared to its predecessors.
Wolff was asked to give his take on switching to a conventional platform amid Red Bull’s radical car concept shift during pre-season testing last week.
“We have gone back from our zeropod concept and some other features, because we felt it didn’t help the car’s performance,” he said.
“And that’s why we’ve gone, what looks at first slightly more conventional from the bodywork, but we believe it is a better platform.”
