RB20 Enhancements Set to Boost Driver Confidence at Austin

Red Bull targets Austin with RB20 upgrades, aiming to improve balance and inspire greater driver confidence on track.

Red Bull will bring a substantial upgrade when F1 resumes in Austin in two weeks. Team principal Christian Horner confirmed this, stating that the goal of these updates is to improve the balance of the RB20.

“I think for all teams, it’s a natural time of year where everyone will bring something to Austin,” Horner explained. “We’ve heard Ferrari has something significant.”

“I think Mercedes and McLaren will also bring updates. Now, what we’re looking to do is develop the understanding we’ve begun to build since Monza and bring a car that is well-balanced between the front and rear.”

“This inspires confidence in the driver. It’s a very different challenge. The first sector is very fast. They’ve also resurfaced some parts of the circuit, which adds another variable.”

“It’s a Sprint weekend, so you need to get into the rhythm quickly. All these factors need to be taken into account. The entire team has worked incredibly hard to understand the issues, resolve them, and hopefully bring fixes to the car for Austin.”

Red Bull’s fundamental problems are not new, Horner continued, comparing Max Verstappen to Michael Schumacher in the Benetton 30 years ago: “I think we’ve seen aerodynamic issues that, when you peel back the layers, actually trace back to 2023.”

“I think Max, with his incredible ability to drive around issues, has managed, whereas Checo has been much more affected. To the point that it’s a bit like Benetton in the early 90s.”

“Michael [Schumacher] could drive that car, but all the other drivers seemed to struggle with it. Max has that ability to work around a car with these sensitivities.”

“We saw the signs in the car’s design at Monza, but when you strip away the downforce, it highlights the disconnection between the front and rear. The numbers we expected to see on the track were miles off from those in our simulation tools.”