Red Bull’s RB20 Evolution: Christian Horner’s Hint at a Faster 2024 Season

Red Bull boss Christian Horner reaffirmed Lewis Hamilton’s primary concern by announcing that the RB19 has provided the team with the necessary resources and time to focus on the evolution of the RB20. This revelation hints at the potential for Red Bull’s car in the upcoming season to be significantly faster than what we’ve witnessed in 2023.

Max Verstappen’s performance at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was nothing short of extraordinary. He managed to distance himself from his rival, Charles Leclerc, as the race progressed, leaving Leclerc behind by a considerable 17.9-second margin by the end of Lap 1. Verstappen’s dominance continued, ultimately leading him to victory at Yas Marina.

Verstappen’s triumph in Abu Dhabi marked his 19th win out of the 22 Grands Prix in 2023. In contrast, Mercedes, while securing second place in the Constructors’ Championship, endured a winless season. This outcome has raised concerns within the Mercedes camp, with Lewis Hamilton expressing apprehension about their performance moving forward.

Casting uncertainty for the upcoming year following the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Hamilton conveyed to Sky F1:

“At this moment, I don’t really know [about next year]. For Red Bull to win by 17 seconds and they haven’t developed their car since August is definitely a concern.

“We have learned a lot about the car and it’s just down to the team now. They know what they need to do. Whether or not we will get there, we will see.”

Horner validated Hamilton’s concerns, affirming that they did, in fact, commence work on the 2024 challenger significantly earlier. He shared with Motorsport Magazine:

“Thankfully, we had a good base to start because if we’d have been consumed with the very limited amount of wind tunnel we had in terms of developing RB19, it would really compromise us very badly on to RB20.

“But because we had a great starting block with ’19 enabled us to apply the limited amount of resource that we had available to RB20 reasonably early for us, while spinning both plates. That’s why development has been very frugal on this car really since the middle of the year.

“Next year’s car is an evolution. Obviously you start to get into diminishing returns. But you know, the team have done an outstanding job this year. It’s the most successful car ever in F1’s history. And they can all be very, very proud of that.”