Метка: Red Bull Racing

Does Red Bull no longer have F1’s fastest car?


The 2024 season is starting to shift towards a three-horse race between Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari as car upgrades have appear to have whittled down the difference between the three teams to one or two tenths at best.

There is little doubt Verstappen and Red Bull are still in a plum position to see out both championships, but with more than two thirds of the championship still to run, the recent surges by Ferrari and especially McLaren have injected some much-needed life into the competitive order.

But while Norris was helped by the safety car in Miami, he and Oscar Piastri were on course to deliver a front-row for McLaren in Imola, only for Verstappen to gain a tow from Nico Hulkenberg. That little help from his friend delivered a bigger boost than the 0.074s and 0.091s gaps to the McLarens.

With how difficult it proved to pass at Imola, perhaps the roles of the hunter and hunted would have been reversed, and Norris’ late pace in the race showed Red Bull is now truly under pressure.

But does that mean Red Bull has fully been caught? Its free practice struggles in Imola were well documented, and Norris’ late comeback was as much down to his exquisite driving and clever tyre management as it was about Verstappen’s hard tyres dropping in temperature.

«I think for the first 40 laps we were in a really good window and he would’ve managed the gap,» Red Bull team boss Christian Horner thought.

«After he came out the gap dropped to six seconds, but he was able to hold it there. But Lando, whatever window they managed to get their tyres into, suddenly their car came alive and it just showed how sensitive these tyres are to the different conditions.»

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20, Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20, Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

«The recovery from Friday to Saturday was very strong and what we managed to achieve on the medium tyre was very strong. I think we need to look at why were we weak in the second half of the stint, because it was only the second half on the hard tyre compared to Lando.»

The caveats accompanying the results in Miami and Imola suggest that it would be wise to wait — beyond outlier Monaco — for Montreal and especially F1’s well-known Barcelona proving ground to draw proper conclusions on whether McLaren has truly caught let alone surpassed Red Bull in pure speed.

F1 is no longer just a battle of who has the fastest car

But what’s clear is that, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc also just seven seconds behind, the margins are now so fine that Verstappen and Red Bull can no longer cruise to wins or brute force their way out of issues elsewhere by virtue of having a superior car.

Driver performance, car set-up, strategy, sim work, race starts, pitstops, and tyre management are now all coming into play as potentially bigger differentiators than just the innate speed of the cars themselves.

«The execution of the weekend is always a key factor, but when margins are so close, then clearly operations, the way you drive the tyres and the way you execute the race can become the dominant factor,» McLaren team principal Stella Andrea explained.

«Between a McLaren and a Red Bull, there wasn’t much to pick and there were other factors that made the difference.

«Being in the dirty air seemed to be a big factor, so having pole position, being ahead in the first corner, allowed you to manage the tyres in a certain way and manage your own pace.»

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

Vasseur believes the battle between 2024’s three top teams will be fought «everywhere» from now on.

«It’s good news for me, good news for F1, good news for the championship,» he said. «You have three teams in seven seconds after seventy laps. It’s less than one tenth a lap.

«The competition will be everywhere. The set-up of the car will be crucial, the performance of the driver will be crucial.»

That is not to say teams still aren’t flat out to fast-track upgrades to the circuit, but it appears they are hitting diminishing returns as the regulations enter their third year.

At the top of the leaderboard, the development path is becoming an «asymptote», as Vasseur always likes describing it. A curve that will never fully hit zero, but slowly starts flattening out over time.

«We are now chasing the last hundredths,» said Vasseur. «It’s not anymore a five-tenth upgrade.

«It means that you also have to be sure that what you are bringing is working. It will be the key factor for the next couple of events.»

This is exactly the scenario that Red Bull warned about when it was enjoying its unprecedented dominance in 2023, winning all but one race as it seemed like the Milton Keynes-based squad would remain unchallenged until 2025.

Even earlier this year, it looked like Red Bull had done enough to keep rivals at arm’s length with its boldly different RB20.

Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB20, Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24

Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB20, Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

But while Horner’s words of caution were with met with varying degrees of disbelief, that scenario might actually play out sooner than most observers expected.

«You cannot take anything for granted and we certainly don’t,» he pointed out.

«We’ve won five out of seven races, two out of two sprint races and seven out of seven poles, but the margins are fine, very fine, and in year three of these rules there is always going to be convergence.

«We are seeing exactly that. The look of the cars is converging, the performance is converging and you can see more races like Imola with fine margins.»

So while Red Bull still looks the favourite to bring it home, leading Ferrari by 56 points and McLaren by 114, the increased pressure it is under has become a source of motivation and fighting talk at Ferrari and McLaren.

«It’s not very often that you have six or potentially eight cars which could win a race,» Vasseur concluded.

«It means that when you are not in a good shape, you can move from P1 to P8 and you are scoring almost zero.

«It means that the championship can change after one or two weekends. Imagine that you have a crash, a DNF, it’s a game changer in terms of championship.

«If one team is doing a 1-2 and the other one has a DNF, then McLaren can come back or we can come back on Red Bull.»

Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB20, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24

Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB20, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images



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Verstappen «almost ended in the grandstands» amid Imola F1 hard tyre struggles


Red Bull driver Verstappen narrowly edged McLaren’s Lando Norris after he gapped the Briton in the first stint on mediums, but struggled much more on the hard Pirelli rubber for the majority of Imola’s 63-lap race.

Verstappen explained that he couldn’t keep the hard compound in the right operating window, which led to a lack of grip that he says nearly saw him crash at Turn 7’s Tosa hairpin.

«On the mediums, it was very good,» Verstappen said after clinching his fifth grand prix win of the season.

«But then as soon as I swapped to the hard tyres, maybe not the first five to 10 laps but after that, I was like: ‘I’m not sure I can bring this to the end’.

«The tyres just fell out of the operating window and it was just like driving on ice, really snappy.

«At Turn 7, I almost ended up in the grandstands, for my feeling, at some point. It was just very difficult, really weird lines that I had to take.»

In previous events, Verstappen would have simply had the advantage to cruise to the finish anyway, but in the vastly upgraded McLaren MCL38, Norris managed to reel the triple world champion back in, hounding him to the line over the last 10 laps.

Verstappen admitted he had doubts about keeping Norris behind but focused on getting a good exit onto Imola’s main straight, which was the only possible overtaking opportunity for the Briton.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

Norris never made it into DRS range of the Red Bull but closed to seven-tenths at the finish.

«I was really trying to survive at the time, and then suddenly Lando really picked up pace,» Verstappen explained.

«I could see him catch up and I was not sure if I could keep him behind. As soon as it was half a second lap, that’s a lot.

«But on the other hand, you can’t do anything about it. You cannot suddenly try and force a half a second out of it when you don’t have to balance.

«I was just trying to really not make mistakes, drive around the balance issues and be quick on the straight. With the rear wing we had, we were quite fast on the straight.»

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An additional headache was a black-and-white flag for track limits, which meant Verstappen was under constant threat of being slapped with a five-second penalty.

«I was understeering a lot on the medium and that was pushing me off sometimes if I missed the apex,» he explained his three track limits offences.

«After that I was leaving a bit more margin. The last few laps when Lando was catching were a bit harder, because I had to use the track as much as I could.

«It does require a bit more focus, so every exit you have to be really sure what you’re doing.»



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Why Ford feels Red Bull has ace up its sleeve with F1 2026 engine project


The American car giant is teaming up with Red Bull Powertrains to help develop an engine for the new 2026 regulations.

The ambitious plans, which will see Red Bull produce its own power unit for the first time in its history, have led to suggestions that it could be a step too far and risk the world championship-winning squad falling down the order if it does not hit the ground running.

Recently, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said that while it was on matching its performance targets so far, there was no way it could make up for a lack of experience compared to its key opposition.

«We’re on a steep learning curve where we’ve got 70 years of disadvantage to Ferrari, but we’ve got a great group of people,» he said.

Engine partner Ford accepts that there is a huge learning exercise going on with Red Bull right now, but it also sees some positives from the way things are being approached.

In particular, Mark Rushbrook, Ford’s global motorsports director, thinks that not needing to worry about current engine specs was a big benefit for ensuring everything was thrown at making the 2026 design as good as possible.

Speaking exclusively to Autosport about how much of a challenge he was expecting, Rushbrook said: «It’s Formula 1, it’s always going to be challenging.

«It is absolutely true that at Ferrari they have the knowledge, all the people and all that experience in a system that already works. So yes, they might have an advantage with that.

Jim Farley, CEO of Ford, Mark Rushbrook, Ford and Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner

Jim Farley, CEO of Ford, Mark Rushbrook, Ford and Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

«But I would say that one of the things though where we have an advantage is the team that is working on the power unit for us, for 2026, is only working on the power unit for 2026. They are not working on the power units for today.»

Rushbrook has reiterated recent comments from Horner regarding the engine project being on target, although he conceded that it was impossible to know how they stack up against the opposition.

«Early in any programme you set goals and milestones, and we are hitting our own goals and milestones at the moment,» he said.

«But the pace in Formula 1 is so much faster than in any other form of motorsport that we are in. It is just full-throttle all the way, from the very beginning of the development until 2030, so until we are done racing this set of regulations.»

Asked about recent rumours suggesting the Red Bull engine was behind where it needed to be, Rushbrook said: «What I will say is that we set our own goals for the development of this power unit based upon experience and what we felt that is needed to be successful in 2026.

«We have no idea where the competition is or what their progression curve is. So a direct comparison to the competitors we don’t have. But for the comparison to what we believe is needed to be successful, we are in a good place.»

Ford has been brought on board by Red Bull to help specifically with the development of the electrical elements of the new power unit.

However, Rushbrook says his company has also begun helping out in other areas where its expertise can be called upon.

«We have a technical interface from my team directly with the campus in Milton Keynes to contribute in many different areas,» he said.

«The internal combustion engine and the turbo weren’t on the initial list, but there is a lot of knowledge that we have with modelling and testing that can help, so that has been engaged and employed as well. Our main focus though is in the electrification, that is a big opportunity.»



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Verstappen not a fan of F1 superlicence points system blocking Antonelli


A driver aiming to compete in an F1 race has to accumulate a total of 40 points to be granted a superlicence, a system that was introduced for 2016.

The FIA, Formula 1’s ruling body, decided to introduce the points system after Verstappen made his grand prix debut at the age of 17 years and 166 days at the start of the 2015 season, jumping into F1 straight from European Formula 3.

Some of the other requirements to obtain a superlicence include being at least 18 years old and having completed at least 80% of two full seasons in a single-seater series.

The system was brought into the spotlight again last year when the FIA rejected Red Bull’s request for IndyCar race winner Colton Herta to be granted an exemption for a superlicence.

Recently, it emerged that a request has been lodged with the FIA for Mercedes junior Andrea Kimi Antonelli to be granted a superlicence before he turns 18 in August.

The Italian, currently racing in F2 with Prema, has been linked with an F1 seat even as early as this year, although Mercedes boss Toto Wolff poured cold water on the speculation, saying it «is not going to happen».

Three-time world champion Verstappen said he opposes the current points system, and he reckons it doesn’t serve the intended purpose.

«That rule was introduced because of me, of course,» Verstappen told Dutch media. «In the end, it doesn’t stop what it’s meant for.

«It’s not specifically about him, but this can stop some talents from getting into Formula 1 quickly because they have to accumulate those 40 points first.

«I’m not a big fan of it, of this entire system. The FIA thinks it’s good, but I’d rather not have it.

«If someone is 17 or 18 years old and has maybe 20 points, but if he is very fast, why can’t he get into Formula 1 then?»

Despite his early debut, Verstappen went on to become the youngest driver to ever score a point, the youngest to finish on the podium, and the youngest to win a race.



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Lando Norris wins for McLaren



Norris beat Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc of Ferrari after the McLaren ace took full advantage to make his pitstop under the safety car, unlike all his rivals.

2024 F1 Miami Grand Prix results

2024 F1 Miami Grand Prix report

Polesitter Verstappen led the charge to Turn 1, as his team-mate Sergio Perez divebombed down the inside of the Ferraris but locked up and went straight on – just missing Verstappen.

Leclerc ran second from Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz initially, but a fast-starting Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – from sixth on the grid – snatched third from the Spaniard around the outside at Turn 2, while Perez recovered in fifth, ahead of Norris.

Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) passed Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes, which started on hard tyres among a mostly medium-shod field, for seventh. Further back, the Alpines raced wheel to wheel through the Turns 13-14-15 and 16 sequence in an argument over 13th, with Pierre Gasly grabbing the spot after a brush of wheels.

Verstappen pulled clear of Leclerc’s DRS range, leaving the lead Ferrari prone to Piastri and Sainz. Piastri DRS-ed past Leclerc at Turn 17 at the end of lap four but was already 2s behind Verstappen.

Perez fell away from the leaders, into the clutches of Norris. Hamilton regained seventh from Hulkenberg on the approach to Turn 11 on lap seven, with Lewis reporting “we nearly had a big crash there” as he was squeezed towards the wall.

But Hamilton locked up six corners later and allowed Hulkenberg ahead of him again. They swapped places again three laps later, with George Russell (Mercedes) also getting by at Turn 11 a couple of laps later, which was Hulkenberg’s cue to pit for hard tyres.

The first of the frontrunners to stop was Perez on lap 18, as Norris began to hound him for fifth. Released, Norris immediately set fastest lap.

Leclerc pitted on lap 20, rejoining in sixth behind the long-running Hamilton. He pulled a superb around-the-outside move on the seven-time champion at Turn 11.

There was drama at the front too, as Verstappen collected the bollard at the apex of Turn 15 and was fortunate that it was jettisoned from the car after initially getting tangled up in his front wing and suspension. That resulted in a brief virtual safety car, to retrieve the pieces of bollard safely – but there wasn’t time for any of the leading lights to make a ‘cheap’ pitstop.

Verstappen pitted at the end of lap 23, allowing Piastri to lead from Sainz and Norris. Sainz stopped on lap 28, just before Kevin Magnussen (Haas) and Logan Sargeant (Williams) clashed at Turn 3, causing a full safety car. Sargeant slammed backwards into the wall, but stepped from his car unhurt.

Norris’s long-running strategy thus paid off, as he was able to make a ‘free’ pitstop, rejoining well clear of Verstappen in the lead. Perez pitted again, going back onto mediums.

Norris led the restart from Verstappen, Leclerc, Piastri, Sainz and Perez. Yuki Tsuonda grabbed seventh from Hamilton at Turn 11.

Norris extracted himself from Verstappen’s DRS range with a brilliant opening lap, while Sainz duelled hard with Piastri for fourth – banging wheels at Turn 11. Moments later, Hamilton repassed Tsunoda around the outside of Turn 12.

Norris kept banging in impressive lap times, leaving Verstappen in his wake. Max complained: “I can’t get the car to turn, it’s a disaster.”

Sainz passed Piastri for fourth with a robust move with contact at Turn 17 on lap 39, and just managed to stay ahead as the Australian retaliated into Turn 1. Stewards will investigate their collision after the race.

Perez and Hamilton then passed Piastri, who suffered front wing damage when Sainz clipped him and was forced to pit.

Norris proved unassailable out front, beating Verstappen by 7.6s, who had Leclerc 2s further back.

Sainz finished fourth, but must see the stewards, from Perez and Hamilton.

Tsunoda finished seventh, ahead of Russell, Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) and Esteban Ocon scored Alpine’s first point of the season in 10th.

2024 F1 Miami Grand Prix fastest laps

Cla Driver  Car / Engine   Time   Delay   Kp/h 
81 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1’30.634   214.965
23 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1’30.849 0.215 214.456
11 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1’30.855 0.221 214.442
55 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1’30.928 0.294 214.270
4 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1’30.980 0.346 214.148
16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1’31.084 0.450 213.903
44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1’31.233 0.599 213.554
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1’31.261 0.627 213.488
18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1’31.588 0.954 212.726
10  22 Yuki Tsunoda RB/Honda RBPT 1’31.682 1.048 212.508
11  14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1’31.727 1.093 212.404
12  20 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1’31.774 1.140 212.295
13  63 George Russell Mercedes 1’31.921 1.287 211.955
14  27 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 1’31.941 1.307 211.909
15  24 Zhou Guanyu Sauber/Ferrari 1’31.991 1.357 211.794
16  31 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1’32.037 1.403 211.688
17  10 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1’32.055 1.421 211.647
18  77 Valtteri Bottas Sauber/Ferrari 1’32.098 1.464 211.548
19  3 Daniel Ricciardo RB/Honda RBPT 1’32.122 1.488 211.493
20  2 Logan Sargeant Williams/Mercedes 1’33.452 2.818 208.483



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McLaren can catch Red Bull in next 12 months if it maintains F1 gains


McLaren has enjoyed something of a renaissance under Stella’s leadership following a difficult start to the 2023 season, scoring just 14 points in the opening five rounds. Heavy revisions to last year’s MCL60 chassis, which came to life during the Austrian GP weekend, ensured that the team returned to challenging for poles and podium finishes.

This rate of development continued and, building on that for 2024, McLaren has consolidated its position in the upper half of the field — and has scored 96 points in the same frame of reference, 82 more than last year.

Stella explained that the focus was on maintaining that rate of development and, if it does so, he believes the Woking squad can realistically battle against Red Bull for honours in 2025.

«I think overall, if we take the 12-month period, we have developed more than anybody else. I think Red Bull did not develop very much last year. Clearly, they were working quite a lot in the background because they innovated the car dramatically,» Stella reflected.

«To innovate the car like they did — it takes months of redesign. They were doing all this work, and then when they came with a new car, it was a big step.

«So even if we lost some ground, I think we lost some ground because we gained so much ground before and while they were not developing.

«That’s why I think we need to look at things over the long period. Over the long period, we are in a strong trajectory. For me, this is also what we say internally: if we keep this trajectory of development for the next 12 months, then why not? We may reach Red Bull.»

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

McLaren will introduce a series of updates at this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix, although Stella concedes that they will not be as wide-ranging as some of the packages introduced last season.

Regardless, he believes that these will present a «decent step» per the team’s current simulation, assuming the team’s current correlation with the real world remains strong.

«We’re going to have some upgrades in Miami, let’s see how they perform. Then, like for everyone, there’s a lot of people at the factory that are all focused on generating developments and it’s always a battle of development.

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«That’s the real job in Formula 1, just constantly improve cars. That’s what we have to do.

«This upgrade will not be as big as the two that we had delivered last year in Austria and Singapore. But it should be a decent step, it should be noticeable. If things correlate with our expectation, with the wind tunnel numbers, for instance, and with the computer simulation.

«It’s always a big if. Because even if the hit rate of this correlation has been good over the last 12 months, there’s always possible surprises.»



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Honda «very surprised» by «unbelievable» Red Bull 2024 F1 car changes


Red Bull crushed the 2023 season by winning 21 out of 22 grands prix, with its early dominance allowing the team to hold off on producing many in-season car upgrades.

Instead, the team focused most of its resources on 2024, producing a car that looks substantially different despite its predecessor’s successes.

Its decision to go for an aggressive evolution for the RB20 — instead of playing it safe — paid off, with Verstappen winning four out of the first five races of the year, and team-mate Sergio Perez also finding more confidence and competitiveness in the new car.

The Milton Keynes squad’s drastic re-design also involved a lot of installation changes for its Honda power unit.

Speaking exclusively to Motorsport.com/Autosport, Honda Racing Corporation president Koji Watanabe said the engine manufacturer was taken aback by all the changes that were made.

«For this year’s Red Bull car, we were very surprised to see that they changed so much for the RB20,» Watanabe said.

«Last year we won 21 out of the 22 races together, but they still changed the concept. It is unbelievable!

«They made a lot of requests to adapt our engine to the new concept for the RB20. After we saw the RB20 in real life we were so surprised by all the changes that they made.»

Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB20

Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB20

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

In addition to adapting its mounting points to the new chassis, Honda also continued efforts to make its power unit more reliable, which Watanabe explained gave Red Bull more design freedom to place its cooling solutions.

«Of course, we cannot increase the power [under the engine freeze], but we can adapt the engine to the new machine,» Watanabe said.

«Apart from that, we can also improve the reliability of the engine. That is what we have done over the past winter.

«This has given Red Bull more freedom for their design and for their aerodynamic concept. That is why they could change the position of the oil coolers, radiators, etcetera.

«Sometimes last year we had a risk to damage the power unit that did not become big trouble in the end, but we always need to minimise the risk.

«That is why we have made our best effort to improve the reliability of the engine even further for this year.»



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Newey set to leave Red Bull F1 team


Newey has decided to leave Red Bull after a two-decade stint as the team’s stalwart designer, playing an instrumental role in designing the cars that propelled Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen to a total of seven drivers’ world championships and six constructors’ titles for Red Bull.

The news of Newey’s impending departure was first reported by German outlet Auto Motor und Sport and since been confirmed to Autosport by sources with knowledge of the situation.

Despite only signing a fresh Red Bull deal last year, Newey’s future at the Milton Keynes squad has been the subject of intense speculation in recent weeks.

Red Bull is still embroiled in an ongoing internal power struggle between the Thai side of the business, which supports team principal Christian Horner, and the Austrian side including team advisor Helmut Marko.

The issue came to a head at the start of the 2024 season after an internal investigation into allegations of misconduct by Horner against a female member of staff, a probe which dismissed the claims against the 50-year-old.

Newey is understood to be unsettled by Red Bull’s situation and the saga around Horner, which has led to a shock decision to inform the team management that he has decided to walk out.

Adrian Newey, Chief Technology Officer, Red Bull Racing, speaks with Christian Horner, Team Principal, Red Bull Racing

Adrian Newey, Chief Technology Officer, Red Bull Racing, speaks with Christian Horner, Team Principal, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

The news presents a huge blow for Red Bull, which is currently cruising to another world championship with Verstappen and its dominant RB20.

Verstappen still has a contract with the squad until the end of 2028, but made it clear in recent weeks that his future of the team heavily depends of all the «pillars» of its success remaining in place.

The Dutchman is informally known to have an exit clause in his deal in case Marko leaves the organisation, but it is not known if he has a similar option for a departure by Newey.

Newey’s next move is not yet known. As previously reported by Autosport, the 65-year-old received a big-money offer from Aston Martin owner Lawrence Stroll over the Saudi Grand Prix weekend.

He has also long been admired by Ferrari, whose advances he has repeatedly turned down in the past.

The terms of Newey’s gardening leave are understood to be the subject of further talks.

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Previously, Newey designed the Williams that helped Damon Hill win the 1996 world championship. He then moved to McLaren, where he also found success conceiving Mika Hakkinen’s championship winning cars in 1998 and 1999.

He stayed with the Woking team until Red Bull convinced him to join its ambitious project in 2006.



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Red Bull can be more resilient to graining after Melbourne


Red Bull continues to be the dominant team in 2024, but its race performance was less convincing in last month’s Australian Grand Prix, in which Ferrari looked to edge ahead.

The Melbourne race was marked by heavy front graining, which is believed to be a factor in why Ferrari was so strong relative to Red Bull.

Max Verstappen’s early retirement meant it was much harder to make comparisons, but team-mate Sergio Perez finished a distant fifth as Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc secured a 1-2 finish for the Scuderia.

Shanghai could be another venue where Red Bull might struggle more to show the RB20’s full potential, with lower temperatures and uncertainty over the state of the tarmac all factors that could see the tyre graining phenomenon return.

As the first sprint weekend of 2024, teams will only have one practice session to get a handle on their set-ups and won’t have time to try out all tyre compounds, so their understanding will be limited.

But Perez believes the experience from Melbourne means the Milton Keynes team is in a better position to mitigate the issue, which makes surface rubber shear off and stick to the tread, causing a loss of grip.

«There are so many uncertainties with the tarmac, it’s been five years since something has been here,» Perez said when asked about whether or not graining could return to be an obstacle for Red Bull.

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

«So, it will be an interesting FP1 and we’ll see from there. Obviously, it looks like a front-limited circuit, where potentially we can struggle a little bit more.

«We’ve learned a lot from Melbourne, we have some understanding of things we did over there, so we just have to remain optimistic.

«If we were to be in the same boat, hopefully with the things we’ve learned we can have a much better resilience to the graining.»

Team-mate Verstappen said Red Bull had made set-up changes before Melbourne qualifying that made his car feel better in race trim, but his retirement on Lap 3 meant he was unable to show it.

Nevertheless, he pointed out that Shanghai’s technical layout is different enough from Albert Park to go into the weekend with too many preconceptions about Red Bull’s form.

“I think Australia, the Friday wasn’t ideal. Maybe the Saturday morning wasn’t either, but we made some changes to my car that I felt better with. Unfortunately, I couldn’t show that,» he said.

“I don’t think that Australia is the same as here. Australia had a lot more faster corners. Here there’s a little bit more low speed, so it’s a little bit different. We just have to wait and see, really.”



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