Newey convinced by 'extreme' Red Bull: 'We have taken a step forward'

Red Bull Racing arrived at the Suzuka Circuit with an update package for the RB20. According to Helmut Marko, the updates played an important role in the strong result Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez managed to achieve in the Japanese Grand Prix. Adrian Newey expanded on the latest upgrades to his team's Formula 1 car.

Newey on latest updates F1 car Red Bull

Newey believes Red Bull's upgrade package was a "small step forward" in terms of performance, but he thinks the team would probably have won at Suzuka without the updates as well. "We know what performance it theoretically gave. As far as we can see from the pressure sensors and load cells then it delivered what it said on the tin from the wind tunnel," he told Sky Sports.

"It was a small step forward. I think this weekend we’d probably have been OK anyway. We all know it’s going to tighten up so we just keep pushing," added the Austrian F1 team's chief technical officer.

After the dominant 2023 season, many expected the RB20 to look a lot like its predecessor, but there were some distinctive differences. "The aero principals which you now see on this year’s car compared to last year is a route we were taking really since early 2022. It’s just a more extreme version or route down that same path," Newey explained.

"It’s a credit to all the guys back at the factory honestly. We have got a tremendous team of engineers. That spreads to the whole organisation. Their enthusiasm, drive and creativity is what you see here before you. The architecture of the car has stayed very similar, a third generation since 2022."