Red Bull technical director Pierre Wache has conceded that the team may have hit the ceiling with the development of its F1 car, though suggested the overall limit of the regulations has not been reached.

The Milton Keynes-based outfit has established itself as the benchmark in the latest technical era, with Max Verstappen winning almost three-quarters of the races in that time.

But rivals McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari have begun to peg back Red Bull’s advantage since the Miami Grand Prix, where Lando Norris picked up his first F1 victory, with the Briton joined by team-mate Oscar Piastri, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell in winning races, in addition to Carlos Sainz’s triumph in Australia earlier in the season.

Asked in an exclusive interview with Autosport whether the RB20 had delivered as he and the team expected pre-season, Wache replied: «I would say not really.

«We improved compared to last year, without doubt, but we didn’t deliver what we expected in some areas. Especially in the high-speed corners, we expected a little bit more than what we have.

«Without thinking about the competitiveness of the car, so just based on our own references, we expected a little bit more with our tools.

Pierre Wache, Technical Director, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

«I think some aspects can be linked to the correlation,» he added when pushed for the cause. «We are using quite an old wind tunnel and it can also be linked to the reduced capacity due to our position in the championship [ATR] and maybe also the fact that this is the third year with this type of regulation.»

On whether Red Bull was beginning to hit the ceiling with regards to its development path, Wache admitted: «Our ceiling [with one specific concept] maybe, but it doesn’t mean that it is the overall ceiling.

«In this business you take ideas from the others as well. During the past two years people took our ideas, but fundamentally you need the others to find some other stuff as well to make a step. I think that is starting to happen now and that gives you a different ceiling.»

Verstappen broke the record for most wins in a single season for the second successive campaign last term, securing 19 victories which included a record-breaking 10 in a row between Miami and Monza.

The dominance was expected by many to continue into the new year and, whilst it did seem to play out that way before the return to Miami, it has been anything but plain sailing for the Dutchman and the team since.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

«I think we expected the opposition to come [catch us] earlier, to be honest with you,» insisted Wache.

«When we started the 2022 season, we didn’t have the quickest car — Ferrari had the quickest car in the beginning of 2022. We expected a massive competition in 2023, but that didn’t happen.

«We also expected the competition to be there more or less from the start [this year]. We expected the others to be very close because the performance you can find with the car is of course limited under the same regulations. After the first four or five races the others came back, maybe with an offset and a bit of delay, but we expected that from the start to be honest.»

Asked if the gap closing was more down to rival improvements or Red Bull’s smaller-than-expected progress, Wache said: «I think it is both together.

«The limitations you have with these regulations are quite high and what you can find to make more steps is getting more difficult of course. Then it is almost sure that, because you keep the same regulations, the opposition will come back at some point.»

Red Bull completely dominated the 2023 F1 season as it clinched back-to-back constructors’ title by winning 21 of 22 grands prix — but 2024 has not been as kind.

Though the Milton Keynes-based squad still leads this year’s championship, the competition is much closer and Red Bull has won half as many races compared to this stage last season.

Aston Martin, McLaren and RB are amongst others to have big performance differences, so how does each team compare after 14 rounds in 2023 to after 14 rounds in 2024 with F1 currently in its summer break?

Red Bull

The RB19 is statistically the most dominant F1 car ever, as it won 95% of grands prix in 2023 which included a record-breaking 14-race winning run to start the year.

That means, at this stage last season, many wondered if Red Bull could go unbeaten due to its advantage over the rest of the grid with Max Verstappen as its leading driver. Eventually it didn’t though, as Carlos Sainz won the season’s 15th round in Singapore.

Red Bull’s rivals then made gains over the off-season, while its technical director Pierre Wache told Autosport that the RB20 “didn’t deliver what we expected”. So, despite a strong start with seven wins in 10, the signs were clear that Red Bull’s advantage was no longer significant — especially when Verstappen won in Imola by less than a second.

Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing, pole man Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

It has culminated in Red Bull failing to win the final four grands prix before the summer break and although Verstappen leads the championship, his team-mate Sergio Perez is seventh and the only driver inside the top eight to not win a race.

So, even though Red Bull is still first in the championship, it is 175 points worse off than it was after 14 rounds in 2023 with seven fewer victories and nine fewer podiums.

McLaren

McLaren has arguably made the biggest gain over the last 12 months, as this time last season it was fifth in the championship with only two podiums in the opening 14 grands prix. Lando Norris was eighth in the standings without a grand prix victory to his name, which is something Oscar Piastri didn’t have either as he was contesting his rookie campaign and had made a steady start in 12th.

But in 2024 McLaren heads into each race gunning for victory with the quickest car at certain tracks and both drivers have become grand prix winners — Norris in Miami and Piastri in Budapest. This is the first time for 12 years that McLaren has scored multiple wins in a campaign, after making impressive staff changes over the off-season that included signing engineer Rob Marshall from Red Bull.

McLaren is second in the championship with 366 points, 251 more than this time last season, and on 12 podiums. So, the team firmly believes that it is in a title fight against Red Bull, as the British squad is just 42 points behind with 10 grands prix and three sprint races remaining.

McLaren’s improvement has perhaps masked the work of Frederic Vasseur at Ferrari, as the Scuderia is 117 points better off than this stage last season with two more victories — Sainz in Australia and Charles Leclerc in Monaco — despite remaining third in the standings.

So, looking from afar it might seem like Ferrari has stood still, especially when its form has tailed off slightly with three podiums in the last six after hitting a development plateau. But it has still been a season of progression for the Scuderia, which in Australia scored its first 1-2 for two years amid a strong start to the season that included eight podiums in the opening eight rounds, culminating in Leclerc’s emotional home win.

That continued a disappointing two years for Mercedes, who had just one victory — the 2022 Brazilian GP — since the turn of the ground effect era. But, it gradually improved as the Silver Arrows stood on the podium in Canada and Spain before Russell’s shock victory in Austria, where he took the lead with seven laps left after Verstappen and Norris collided.

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG

Photo by: Erik Junius

Mercedes won the following weekend’s British GP as well, which ended a win drought of almost three years for Hamilton, whose previous victory was the 2021 Saudi Arabian GP. The Silver Arrows continued its upward trajectory by fitting upgrades for the remaining rounds before the summer break and Hamilton scored a podium in Hungary before claiming another win at Spa-Francorchamps.

In Belgium, Mercedes actually finished 1-2 on the road but a post-race disqualification for Russell, who had an underweight car, gave the win to his team-mate. Those victories now mean that, despite Mercedes being seven points worse off than this stage last season, it has collected more wins, poles and podiums with the team being just as quick as the championship top three.

Aston Martin

So, Aston Martin is 144 points worse than this stage last season and has a 193-point deficit to Mercedes. The silver lining being that sixth-placed RB is 39 points behind, so Aston Martin is in its own league sitting fifth in the championship. 

RB

RB — then known as AlphaTauri — had an extremely disappointing start to 2023, as Red Bull’s sister squad was bottom of the championship after 14 grands prix with just three points. It improved in the latter stages though, as the Faenza-based squad scored 22 points in the final eight rounds after taking gradual floor upgrades and fitting the RB19’s rear suspension.

The team has carried that form into 2024, as RB has 34 points after 14 grands prix and is four places higher in the championship than it was at this stage last season. RB is currently on a magnificent run of 10 point scores in the last 12 grands prix, which includes a fourth-placed finish for Daniel Ricciardo in the Miami sprint race.

Haas

Haas is another team to have made a better start, as the American outfit is one place higher in the championship having scored 16 more points than it did at this stage last season.

That included double points scores in Australia and Austria, with the Red Bull Ring featuring its joint-best result of sixth for Nico Hulkenberg which was also his finishing position at Silverstone. Hulkenberg is scoring most of Haas’ points though as the 36-year-old, who is due to depart for Sauber at the end of 2024, and has 22 points compared to Kevin Magnussen’s five, with the Dane also set to leave.

Nico Hulkenberg, Haas VF-24, Daniel Ricciardo, RB F1 Team VCARB 01

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

The team’s improved form comes after it changed its boss over the off-season, with Ayao Komatsu replacing Guenther Steiner while Haas has also taken the correct development paths throughout this campaign.

Alpine has significantly declined compared to last season, as 11 points for the French squad means it is 62 points worse off and two positions lower in the championship. The team made a solid start to 2023, which included shock podiums in Monaco and the Netherlands, but it could not keep up that form as Alpine finished the year in sixth, 160 points behind Aston Martin yet 92 ahead of Williams, having changed its management structure midway through.

The team then undertook a complete redesign of its car for 2024, but that largely backfired as Alpine started the year with various problems like traction and too much understeer. This resulted in Alpine scoring zero points across the opening five rounds, but upgrades have since helped the team improve and it even claimed back-to-back double scores in Canada and Spain.

But, Alpine is still one of the worst teams on the grid with its drivers Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon respectively sitting 15th and 17th in the standings.

Williams

Williams has also had a more difficult start to 2024, as just four points for the team means it has 17 fewer than at this stage last season. The British squad is also two championship positions lower in ninth, as Alex Albon said “we’ve got a better car than last year, but so does everyone else”.

There is still a positive atmosphere at Williams though, as the team has signed three-time grand prix winner Sainz for 2025 who will replace the struggling Logan Sargeant. Williams is building for the regulation change in 2026, so is focused on developing the team and its infrastructure over the coming months for a successful transition into the new rules.

Sauber

Sauber has been the most disappointing team of 2024, as it is bottom of the championship and the only constructor to not yet score a point. The Swiss squad is simply struggling for all-round pace having failed to improve over the off-season as much as its rivals.

Valtteri Bottas, Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber C44

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

This has caused concern at Audi, who is set for a full takeover of the squad in 2026. Right now, much of the chatter at Sauber is about Audi’s impending arrival who have hired ex-Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto to lead the team.

That’s still a long way away though, and both Sauber drivers are currently fighting for their F1 futures, as the contracts of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu expire at the end of this season with neither yet to sign an extension.

Red Bull will promote from within its Formula 1 team to replace departing sporting director Jonathan Wheatley.

Wheatley will leave Red Bull at the end of the current campaign after an 18-year stint at the F1 world champions.
The 57-year-old will become the Audi F1 team principal in a switch after overhauling its own management structure.

The German car giant has taken over Swiss-based Sauber with a view to producing its own car and engine for the 2026 season but had struggled to make significant progress and lost out on signing its main driver target Carlos Sainz to Williams.


Autosport understands that Audi’s new chief operating and technical officer Mattia Binotto, the former Ferrari team boss, did not have any hand in Wheatley’s appointment.

Sources say Red Bull will look to replace Wheatley from within the organisation, giving the team the chance to freshen up their management structure.

While Christian Horner will remain in control, Wheatley and Adrian Newey’s subsequent departures means that Red Bull will be forced to reorganise its structure and pit wall.

That could see the return of the team manager role, rather than the sporting director title held by Wheatley.

This would be of considerable benefit as Red Bull looks to trim costs to comply with F1’s cost cap.

Jonathan Wheatley, Red Bull Racing team manager

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

While Wheatley’s and Newey’s departures will lead to an increase in speculation that Red Bull is in turmoil, another school of thought is that the team is in a state of evolution, with veteran staff making way.

Designer Pierre Wache was offered new terms just days before Newey’s departure was confirmed and it is likely that a new target has been identified for Wheatley’s role.

It was well-known within the paddock that Wheatley harboured aspirations to be a team boss.

At the start of the year he was linked with Horner’s job when the latter was facing an internal investigation.

That had created an uneasiness within the team before Wheatley signed a letter of support, pledging his faith to Horner, who signed him from Benetton in 2006.

Red Bull could now split the position held by Wheatley, possibly by promoting Gianpiero Lambiase, who is already Head of Race Engineering as well as Max Verstappen’s race engineer.


Another senior figure would be responsible for acting as a team manager in negotiations with the FIA.

However, sources say it is unlikely to look for external candidates and sees the departures of high-paid staff simply as evolution.

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