Rule changes were good for Red Bull: 'That would have been a problem'

Red Bull Racing's fierce battle with Mercedes up to and including the final race of the 2021 Formula 1 season forced the Austrian racing stable to continue developing the RB16B. The new regulations that came into force in 2022 were therefore actually convenient for the team, argues Helmut Marko.

Because Red Bull had to keep its attention on last year's car for so long, less time was left to develop the 2022 bolide. At the start of the new season, however, Adrian Newey appeared to have been on top of things when designing the RB18, as along with Ferrari' s F1-75 it was the most competitive bolide in the field.

Rule changes helped Red Bull

Marko admits that the rule changes have worked in Red Bull's favour. "If the old regulations had remained in place, it would have been a problem," he acknowledges in conversation with Auto, Motor und Sport. Newey's decades of experience were crucial, not least because the designer saw the problems with porpoising coming.

"So people like Adrian Newey or Rob Marshall can use their decades of experience. They recognise the pitfalls and weaknesses in the regulations, they know where to start and in which direction to go," Marko said.