Red Bull RB-20 reportedly failed FIA crash test

As per reports, the 2024 Red Bull RB-20 failed to pass the FIA-mandated frontal homologation test.

Red Bull RB-20 reportedly failed FIA crash test

Dr. Helmut Marko, Max Verstappen and Christian Horner (Via: IMAGO)

Red Bull Racing dominated the 2023 F1 season with the mighty RB-19. The Adrian Newey-designed car had a historic season in Formula1 with 21 race wins in 22 rounds. The Christian Horner-led team had been working on next year’s car for some time now, likely to be called RB-20. However, as per reports, it seems that the 2024 Red Bull challenger has failed the FIA-mandated crash tests.

According to Motorsport Italy, the Red Bull RB-20 was taken to Cranfield before Christmas for the dynamic frontal homologation test. All F1 teams based in the UK use the Cranfield facility for this test. Unfortunately, it seems that the car’s front muzzle failed to absorb the entire impact of the crash. This in turn damaged the chassis as well, leading to a failure in the test.

It is believed that Milton Keynes took an aggressive approach with the RB-20. Red Bull wanted to reduce the car’s weight as much as possible. The 2023 RB-19 was above the 798kg minimum weight limit. As such, Newey and his team aimed to bring the car below this figure. The car will likely be tested in the coming days albeit with some changes.

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Will Red Bull be forced to go back to the drawing board?

Certainly, if the reports are correct, this would be a major setback to the reigning world champions. The Austrian team has an ambitious plan for the upcoming season to further solidify its dominance. However, a change in the front nose of the Red Bull RB-20 might hamper the team’s design for its challenger.

Adrian Newey and Christian Horner
Adrian Newey and Christian Horner (Via IMAGO)

Adrian Newey and his team would be looking to extract the most out of the car while ensuring that it passes this test on the next attempt. The Austrian team has made the most gains in terms of car design since the start of the ground-effect era in F1. As such, it is unlikely that Milton Keynes would be alarmed by this setback.

The reigning world champions will be aiming to win their third consecutive Constructors’ championship in 2024. However, rivals are working round the clock over the winter break to bridge the gap with Milton Keynes. As such, fans would be looking forward to what could be an exciting Formula 1 season next year.

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