Red Bull’s 2023 car reported to be ‘drastically’ different from it’s predecessors

Red Bull's challenger for the 2023 F1 season will be 'completely new'.

Red Bull’s 2023 car reported to be ‘drastically’ different from it’s predecessors

RB18

Red Bull had one of their most dominant seasons in 2022. Winning the Constructor’s and Driver’s title with little resistance. The Red Bull RB18 won 17 out of the 22 races in 2022, earning it a win-rate of 77%. Red Bull started the season as the second best team, lagging behind Ferrari. The dynamic completely flipped soon majorly due to Red Bull’s aggressive development program.

Red Bull CTO Adrian Newey will be looking to build on that momentum in 2023. The energy drink outfit’s latest challenger, The RB 19 will be unveiled to the public is New York City on the 3rd of February. Many expect a simple ‘dummy’ car to be presented in New York with the actual contender being revealed during pre-season testing. With limited aerodynamic resources, owing to Red Bull‘s over-spending penalty in 2022, the Milton Keynes based outfit is expected to arrive at pre-season testing with an already ‘well-developed’ car.

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According to sources, The RB19 is expected to have noticeable characteristics of it’s predecessor but will be brand new in terms of the aerodynamic package. The idea is to bring a mature car to the first race. This will not only provide additional performance but also save the limited research and development resources at Red Bull’s disposal.

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Red Bull ‘way ahead’ of the competition from an aerodynamic standpoint

Max Verstappen in the RB18
Max Verstappen in the RB18

Due to their budgetary troubles, Red Bull have had their wind tunnel testing time slashed by 10%. This deduction has lasting implications. According to Red Bull Team Principal, Christian Horner, the limitation will cost the team between “0.25 seconds to 0.50 seconds per lap”. Notably, the team incurred a punishment of a $7 Million fine as well as a wind tunnel testing time reduction by 10% due to over-spending during the 2021 season.

Reportedly, 90% of the aerodynamic surfaces on the RB19 will be new. These changes include not only the visible components such as the sidepods, the engine air inlets etc. but also the floor of the car. In a nutshell, while the design philosophy of Red Bull remains constant, a majority of the surfaces in contact with direct airflow will be radically different to what has been seen in the past.

These changes are expected to produce a more stable car, hopefully with the issue of bouncing completely eliminated. Conclusively, the development restrictions are bound to provide more competitive racing with other teams having the opportunity to catch up to Red Bull. Fans are enthusiastic about the RB19 and hope to see it for the first time in all it’s glory during the car launch in New York as opposed to on track in March.

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