Verstappen Trusts RB20's Bold Direction for 2024

Max Verstappen expresses confidence in Red Bull’s innovative RB20 for 2024, highlighting the team’s non-conservative approach and engineering trust.

Max Verstappen is confident that Red Bull has made the right choices for its 2024 single-seater, the RB20, unveiled this Thursday. The three-time World Champion appreciates the innovative aspects of the car, trusting in the team’s engineers.

“I’m pretty happy with the direction they’ve chosen,” Verstappen stated. “I saw the designs in Abu Dhabi, during the last race, and thought ‘wow, this is quite different’. They’ve not been conservative, to say the least. What I value in the team is that we had a good package, yet they took the opportunity to go all out and try to improve it.”

“Of course, time will tell if it’s truly good. From what I see within the team, everyone is pleased with what they’ve achieved over the winter. But again, we don’t know. We can’t control what others have done.”

The Dutchman is convinced his team hasn’t taken reckless risks: “I think it’s controlled aggression. It doesn’t feel like what they’ve done is a question mark. I like what the team has done. It’s not a conservative car.”

“It’s not like last year’s car was good and we’re just going to add a few things and try to make it a bit faster. I think they’ve been quite bold, and that’s what I like. They’ve been very aggressive. Everyone is very positive, everyone is very motivated, and I’m eager to learn more about the car.”

Other teams “learn” quickly

With strong competition last season from rivals Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren, and Aston Martin behind Red Bull, Verstappen says Red Bull’s success this season is as much due to their rivals as to themselves.

“Around us, others are learning more and more. It’s not always us who decide the quality of the season because if you have more natural competition with different teams, it’s even harder to win races.”

Asked about his first impression driving the RB20, Verstappen replied: “Slippery! It was wet and cold. But everything was fine.”

“The car started well, it’s just about ensuring that once they’ve assembled the car, everything works, because from there, the car is sent to Bahrain. That’s where it really starts, you begin to learn more about the car, you set up the right program, and you do a lot of running.”