The place do Crimson Bull go after a outstanding 2023? They received 95.4% of the races, Max Verstappen led over 75% of all laps, that they had the quickest pit stops with a mean of two.5s and so they moved only one in need of Williams when it comes to Grand Prix victories regardless of having competed in 400 fewer races.
However for Staff Principal Christian Horner there isn’t any time to bask within the glow of these achievements – he’s far too busy making ready to defend Crimson Bull’s crown, and defined to F1.com’s Lawrence Barretto the largest challenges dealing with his group going into this 12 months…
Staying forward of the pack
In 2023 Crimson Bull placed on a crushing show that yielded a second successive constructors’ title (and sixth in complete) plus a 3rd straight drivers’ triumph for Verstappen. “I couldn’t have imagined it in one million years,” says Horner.
“I don’t suppose we’ll ever see a repeat, actually not in our lifetimes, of what we managed to realize [last] 12 months with a automotive that’s managed the sort of dominance of RB19.”
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That’s actually what Crimson Bull’s rivals will likely be hoping as they head into this 12 months’s marketing campaign, which is able to see a record-breaking 24 Grands Prix.
The jury’s out as as to if that would be the case. On the one hand, Crimson Bull have the momentum and have a automotive that was comfortably higher than anybody else’s on nearly each observe on the calendar. The counter is that with steady guidelines, they’re larger up the event curve and thus in concept, have fewer good points to seize maintain off relative to their rivals. Horner is leaning in the direction of the latter because the extra probably final result.
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“I’m totally anticipating with steady rules, [there’ll be] diminishing returns for us, as a result of I feel we bought to the highest of the curve faster than others,” says Horner. “The sphere goes to converge. For us, it’s tough to know who that will likely be. Will or not it’s McLaren? Will or not it’s Ferrari? Will or not it’s Mercedes? It retains shifting round behind us. However that’s what we’re totally anticipating going into [this] 12 months.”
He provides: “There’s all the time a reset as you go into the next 12 months. I’m satisfied that you just’ll see much more vehicles that seem like the RB19 philosophy going into subsequent 12 months. If you happen to stand nonetheless on this enterprise, you are usually going backwards. I feel we’ve bought up that curve faster than others, however we’re right into a regulation of diminishing returns.”
READ MORE: The design options that made the Crimson Bull RB19 so particular
Crimson Bull are at a drawback concerning the quantity of wind tunnel and CFD (computational fluid dynamics simulation) runs they’re permitted relative to their rivals due to their success. The higher you do, the less runs you get as per the foundations.
It’s for that cause that, whereas Crimson Bull turned their consideration to this 12 months’s machine very early – partly as a result of they may see how aggressive the RB19 was going to be – Horner nonetheless feels they’ve needed to adapt the best way they strategy improvement.
“With the shortage of wind tunnel time that we’ve had, regardless that we transitioned early, we nonetheless had much less time in apply than a terrific a lot of our opponents,” he says. “So, we’ve needed to be very frugal and selective of the place we apply that point for RB20, that can clearly attempt to construct on the strengths of RB19.”
He provides: “[The RB20 is going to be] evolution, not revolution. I feel all areas have been revisited within the automotive, and we are able to’t afford to have any complacency. The automotive could be very a lot an evolution of a theme. We’re not reinventing the wheel.”
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Getting ready for the longer term
One space the place Crimson Bull have lengthy been trailing their rivals is within the wind tunnel stakes. Horner describes the Crimson Bull one as “a Chilly Warfare relic” that’s “not significantly environment friendly, significantly in chilly climate which you are inclined to get a bit within the UK”.
That has meant the technical group have needed to be “selective” in the place they channel their improvement. It makes what they’ve performed with the RB19 – arguably one of the best automotive in F1 historical past – much more spectacular.
To make sure they don’t fall additional behind – particularly given wind tunnels will probably be a key software in improvement going ahead in F1, with the likes of Aston Martin and McLaren investing in new state-of-the-art amenities – Crimson Bull have pulled the set off and commissioned their very own one which will likely be constructed on-site at their Milton Keynes campus and substitute the power they use in Bedford that’s greater than 70 years outdated.
Development will begin this 12 months and it’ll be prepared for 2026, with Horner saying the 2027 automotive – their second to run their very own Crimson Bull Powertrains energy unit, developed along side Ford who’re returning to the game – is ready to be the primary one to run in it.
READ MORE: Horner explains why Crimson Bull opted to accomplice with Ford as a substitute of ‘unimaginable firm’ Honda for 2026
That is additional proof that Crimson Bull see a long-term future in F1, even after the passing of their co-founder and proprietor of the vitality drinks agency Dietrich Mateschitz in 2022. Their Milton Keynes campus continues to develop – and is changing into so substantial, it’s nearly beginning to seem like its personal city.
“The dedication to the campus within the UK is extraordinary,” says Horner. “To have a state-of-the-art wind tunnel, one thing that we debated during the last 19 years, and see the place we’re at with [Red Bull] Powertrains, to have inside a three-year interval recruited near 500 individuals and constructed a state-of-the-art facility with our personal manufacturing capability – it’s a large dedication by the shareholders, and it demonstrates their dedication to the longevity, nevertheless it additionally demonstrates that System 1 is delivering.”
Success on-track clearly helps Crimson Bull’s love and dedication to System 1 – however arguably much more importantly, Horner says the game is delivering for the vitality drinks’ backside line. “We bought over 320 million cans off the again of System 1 actions,” he provides. “That may put Crimson Bull Racing within the high 10 international locations of Crimson Bull [sales] – so System 1 delivers.”
Deciding on Verstappen’s future group mate
With Verstappen locked in till the tip of 2028, Crimson Bull – to an extent – don’t have to fret a lot about their driver line-up, not least as a result of Verstappen scored sufficient factors by himself to win the constructors’ championship final 12 months.
READ MORE: Horner admits ‘every little thing is open’ for 2025 Crimson Bull line-up with Ricciardo again within the fold
They’re additionally within the very lucky place that they’ve a collection of drivers inside the Crimson Bull driver pool that they’ll name upon, together with Daniel Ricciardo, Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson – and a really lengthy listing of events outdoors of the household.
And, in fact, they’ve the choice of retaining Sergio Perez, who completed a career-best second within the championship final 12 months and ensured Crimson Bull clinched their first one-two end within the standings. Horner says it’s as much as the 33-year-old Mexican to show he deserves a brand new contract.
“The posh place that we’re in is that we’re not in any rush,” says Horner. “We’ve bought a great deal of choices. I feel it’s Checo’s seat to lose. He’s the one which we’re backing, he’s our 2024 driver. If he does a terrific job [this] 12 months, there’s no cause we wouldn’t lengthen him into 2025. However it might be purely based mostly on what he achieves over what will likely be a big a part of the season.
“When it comes to us needing to be in a rush, we’ve choices which are within the wings, we’ve a number of curiosity from outdoors of the group as effectively. So so long as the automotive is aggressive, it places you in a luxurious place that you would be able to simply take your time to have a look at what all these choices seem like.”
READ MORE: ‘He is aware of it’s a giant 12 months’ – Horner picks out what Perez wants to enhance on for 2024
Horner concedes it’s “mentally vastly powerful” to be Verstappen’s group mate, so spectacular is the three-time champion. However he additionally says that whereas Verstappen is acting at such a excessive stage – and bringing within the lion’s share of the factors to make Crimson Bull favourites to win one other constructors’ championship this 12 months – the second automotive must ship. Perez, then, must up his recreation, having scored 285 factors final 12 months, 290 fewer than Verstappen.
“As the sphere converges, it’s inevitable that you really want your two vehicles as shut collectively as you may obtain,” says Horner. “Checo, his race tempo and his racing has been very robust on many events. It’s his efficiency in qualifying that’s the space he must concentrate on over the winter. That he’s conscious about, that he’s bought to up his qualifying common in order that he’s not having to come back from thus far again.”
He provides: “It’s [qualifying] an space he’s going to focus onerous on, as a result of he is aware of it’s one thing that’s essential for him for [this] 12 months.”