“It didn’t work at all,” Helmut Marko breaks down Red Bull’s ambitious Mercedes-inspired RB-20 concept

Dr. Helmut Marko admitted that the radical design of the Red Bull RB-20 would depend on the results from pre-season testing.

“It didn’t work at all,” Helmut Marko breaks down Red Bull’s ambitious Mercedes-inspired RB-20 concept

Helmut Marko [L] Toto Wolff [R] and Red Bull RB-20 (images via IMAGO)

Red Bull Racing grabbed the attention of the entire paddock with the launch of the RB-20. The Adrian Newey-designed 2024 challenger shocked many as it was a drastic change compared to its predecessor. The new car had a sidepod concept similar to Mercedes’ failed zero-side pods, a resemblance that even Max Verstappen could not dismiss entirely. Now, Red Bull Motorsport Consultant Dr. Helmut Marko has admitted that there are some concerns over the ambitious new design.

The 80-year-old recalled that the Silver Arrows had the data to back up their concept in 2022. However, on-track results were nowhere close to the team’s expectations. Subsequently, Marko claimed that Red Bull will be understanding the results during pre-season testing to see if the RB-20 actually delivers satisfactory results with this solution.

They [Mercedes] were also convinced by the data of their sidepod concept. In practice, it didn’t work at all. And we will now see in the tests whether we can successfully implement this solution, or let’s say a similar solution.
Helmut Marko told Servus TV (H&T: PlanetF1)
YouTube video

Moreover, Helmut Marko highlighted that F1 aero genius Adrian Newey would not want his cars to have radiators at all. As the Red Bull Chief Technical Officer tries to minimize the size of the sidepod inlets. However, this would be an impossible solution for the engineers at Milton Keynes. However, Marko reckoned that this idea did have some logic to it.

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Adrian Newey would always like to have cars without radiators. Of course, that’s not possible for the engineers [to carry out the idea], but it’s logical.

Red Bull has high hopes for the RB-20

The Red Bull RB-20 builds upon the pace advantage enjoyed by the team during Max Verstappen‘s record-breaking 2023 campaign. However, Milton Keynes was adamant about making a big step for the upcoming F1 season despite being comfortably ahead of their rivals. Team boss Christian Horner praised his engineers for taking an ambitious approach.

Max Verstappen driving the RB-20 in pre-season testing
Max Verstappen driving the RB-20 in pre-season testing (Via IMAGO)

Moreover, Sergio Perez claimed that Red Bull had taken a brave new direction with the RB-20. Certainly, the 2024 challenger has amazed fans as it showcases the talent back at Milton Keynes. Max Verstappen was happy with his first run with his new machinery.

Red Bull has taken up a challenge with the design of the RB-20. However, the Austrian team might be in the best position for such a feat considering its pace advantage last season. As such, Milton Keynes would be working extensively to ensure that its radical new design can live up to expectations and achieve incredible success this season.

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