“Max Verstappen’s RB18 will be 3-5kg lighter,” Red Bull set to bring in further updates in Barcelona


“Max Verstappen’s RB18 will be 3-5kg lighter,” Red Bull set to bring in further updates in Barcelona

Max Verstappen

Red Bull’s RB18, which was criticised for being the heaviest car on the grid early in the season, is now set to come down to the optimum level as it will lose weight of 3-5kgs with the help of lighter parts while going into the sixth round, i.e., Spain. This cut comes just weeks after it received its first slash of 4kgs in Imola for Max Verstappen and Miami for Sergio Perez.

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With a weight cut planned for Spain, Red Bull isn’t planning on any big technical update. But as the weight will come down by an average of 4 kgs, naturally the speed will increase too. This shall also act as some damage control as Ferrari plans to roll out big upgrades as its reliability program has ended after the Miami GP.

De Telegraaf reports, “Towards the next Grand Prix, Red Bull is not so much looking at a performance upgrade, but the (too) heavy RB18 of Verstappen and teammate Sergio Pérez will become a lot lighter. New, lighter parts allow for a weight loss of three to five kilograms.”

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The pace is the ultimate damage control for Red Bull

Charles Leclerc in his F1-75 and Max Verstappen in his RB18 in the Miami GP
Charles Leclerc in F1-75 and Max Verstappen in his RB18 in the Miami GP

Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc have engaged in battles in all the races of the season. The only instance when they possibly didn’t was during the Imola GP, but during that weekend it was compensated by their sprint race.

And now, as both the teams are pushing both of their drivers forward, the budget cap is holding them back. Reportedly, with Red Bull already having spent more than Ferrari so far, the latter can afford to bring in heavy upgrades, whereas the former has to further cut down its expenses.

With cheap fixes for their reliability issues, the Milton-Keynes based team looks in great shape but had a moment of scare in Miami with Sergio Perez’s car. However, they will continue to bank on its pace advantage over Ferrari and hope to hold the horses back with more horsepower expected to be unlocked in Spain by them.

ALSO READ: “This one didn’t get it wrong,” Toto Wolff rates the inaugural Miami GP a high 9 on 10

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