Red Bull Content Pool

Interview

Red Bull engineer Waché surprised by Mercedes and Aston Martin in Bahrain

Red Bull engineer Waché surprised by Mercedes and Aston Martin in Bahrain

21 February - 18:00
11
Author profile picture

Tim Kraaij

After the car launches, the Formula 1 teams in Bahrain showed more details on their cars. Red Bull Racing are the big favourite, but how do Red Bull look at the competition? Pierre Waché, Red Bull Racing's technical director, discussed this in an exclusive interview with GPblog.com.

During the winter test in Bahrain, Red Bull have made solid impression with the RB20 for now. Max Verstappen could do many laps with his new car and, above all, was very fast. Confidence in the new season was already high at Red Bull and will increase by the mile on this one. Still, Red Bull was surprised by the competition.

Not everyone showed everything on their new cars at the season launches. Red Bull also concealed some parts of the new car in their published photos. McLaren did the same, as Andrea Stella later frankly admitted. In Bahrain, all the teams showed their real cars for 2024, and a few things stand out.

Which competitors will surprise Red Bull in Bahrain?

"Mercedes is surprising for me," Waché said in a conversation with GPblog.com. "Their concept is surprising. It's interesting. Aston also is quite good. I didn't have time to see the rest in more detail. They didn't reveal as much during their presentation. But I'm sure we'll find some interesting stuff."

When asked what Red Bull were surprised about on the Mercedes W15, the Frenchman said: "The front wing is very interesting on the Mercedes". Waché's smile spoke volumes. When Mercedes presented this wing, many voices were already raising the question of whether this was legal. If the FIA approves it, Red Bull will likely follow their rivals.

Who can challenge Red Bull in 2024?

At the time of the interview, halfway through the first day of testing, Red Bull are looking good. Verstappen held the fastest time and also completed the most laps. The competition is behind (again), but it is still only testing. Waché, therefore, finds it difficult to make a prediction as to who will pose the biggest challenge.

"I think it’s the usual suspect of big teams. Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren are the main worry, and after Aston [Martin] did a good job last year, I think it's clearly these four teams. I don't want to dismiss the others because I don't know, but from what I saw last year and the year before is what I would say."

In Bahrain, GPblog.com had an exclusive interview with Waché. This is part of the full interview that will appear on the website later this week. In it, Adrian Newey's right-hand man discusses the new RB20, what has changed, what risks Red Bull are taking and what impact Max Verstappen had on the car. So keep a close eye on GPblog.com over the next few days.