F1 – Few things unite the Formula 1 teams but on Saturday, at the end of the tests, one thing was clear to the whole paddock: Red Bull is the team to beat.
Starting from the distance covered by Max Verstappen on Friday (equal to three grands prix), up to the low-consumption laps imposed by Sergio Perez on Sunday evening, a quick glance was enough to understand the trend: Red Bull is scary.
Only the glorious run of Guanyu Zhou, late on Friday evening, prevented a clear domination of the house of Milton Keynes in the three days of testing concluded on Sunday.
But the great form of the English team can also be seen by digging deeper, beyond the lap times, which have a relative value in the tests.
In short, Red Bull seems to have everything under control. The reliability of the car, apart from a small hiccup on day two, seemed perfect and there was nothing to suggest that the rivals could be a threat.
After the tests, Red Bull Powertrains consultant Helmut Marko said: “Times, as we know in testing, are relative. We can’t know how the competition was with the fuel, and therefore if they were heavier than us. Our time is relative but we have been proven to be reliable, fast and ahead of the curve. What makes us very optimistic is that both Perez and Max’s long runs were faster than their rivals.”
As Frederic Vasseur pointed out, being the team to beat in testing doesn’t guarantee anything when it comes to producing results over the weekend: “I can’t remember who did the fastest lap last year in Bahrain, but he wasn’t on pole for the race. And it was the same two years ago.” Said the main team of Ferrari.
“Rhythm” is the key word
From the first moment the RB19 took to the track in Bahrain, proving to be fast and performing. Fortunately, however, the role of the driver remains predominant in this sport. The fastest cars on the track are not always the fastest in reality: history teaches us that having a very performing car counts for nothing if the drivers fail to get the most out of the single-seater.
But here too the news for the English-flagged team is good: both Max and Sainz, in fact, had no difficulty in taking their car to the limit. From the very first moments, while the other teams struggled to find a good balance, Verstappen boasted that he hadn’t had any problems.
“Every time I got in the car, I felt comfortable and could push immediately,” he said.
The facts confirm what was declared by the reigning champion. In fact, Verstappen spent the day doing 5/6/7 laps, all at the same time, proving to have an extraordinarily constant pace, interrupted only by entering the pits to change the set-up.
For a new car test, it was pretty impressive.
“I think all the days of testing have been very positive for us,” added Max, “the balance of the car was good from the start making it possible to try various set-up tests. That’s good, because in this way you learn a lot about the car.”
The new tires give Verstappen what he wants
The excess weight at the start of the 2022 season with which Red Bull started meant that the car was too sluggish when entering corners. A direct consequence of this feature was understeer: something Verstappen notoriously dislikes. The result was an “ups and downs” performance by the Dutch driver who saw the RB18 move away and then reapproach his own tastes in terms of “portability” and “drivability”.
When Red Bull F1 began its weight reduction program starting with the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, things changed for Verstappen too. He found a car that steered the way he liked and that helped spark the dominance we saw.
Pirelli then took care of making it rain in the wet (and it is appropriate to say this), which this year presents itself with a new wet compound (which does not require the use of thermal blankets). The aim is precisely to offer a more robust front end even in wet track conditions. This immediately made one think that things were leaning even more towards what Verstappen likes.
At the end of the tests, in which Verstappen was able to ride with the new compound, the rider stated that the sensations were excellent: “They give less understeer, but this is mainly due to the fact that the rear tires are not so as good as they were last year,” he said. “The front tires are the same. Overall though, I think this year’s car is a bit more balanced”.
Reliability and weight are no longer a problem
Even last year Red Bull F1 had proved to be by far the best car on track, the team had not started the year in the best of shape. Reliability issues had slipped both the Bahrain and Australian grands prix out of her hands.
But the strength of a team is seen above all in moments of difficulty and Red Bull has proved to be up to speed by quickly solving the problems. The resulting reliability carried over to the 2023 car, which ran almost flawlessly throughout the three-day test in Bahrain.
The second area where Red Bull F1 struggled last year has also been eliminated: the team has met its weight targets for the RB19. This means that it no longer has to deal with set-up and can consequently focus its energies on performance.
“Compared to last year, since the car is more or less the same, we are far ahead,” he said. “It was the first year with a completely new car and with a new set of technical regulations, luckily we learned a lot during the first year. This is why I believe that 2023 will be a little easier.
Few watching the track in Bahrain last week could disagree.