Red Bull “clearly ahead of schedule” for 2020 season

Aston Martin Red Bull Racing are “clearly ahead of schedule” according to advisor Helmut Marko as they prepare for the beginning of the 2020 Formula 1 season and their second year with Honda.

Red Bull are set to unveil their 2020 contender on February 12 and perform their shakedown, the same day as Renault and a day after Ferrari, ahead of winter testing from February 19.
 
Marko feels they are more prepared as team this year having previously struggled during the opening stages of the season.
 
“The preparations go very well and in comparison to last year we are clearly ahead of schedule,” he said to Motorsport-Magazin.
 
“On February 12th we will perform the shakedown at Silverstone circuit and before that the car will be on the test bench.
 
“In the past it has been our weakness to start the season with a disadvantage. But I believe we will prevent that with this preparation.”
 
2020 marks the second year of Red Bull’s partnership with engine supplier Honda, having had a successful first season in 2019 as Max Verstappen calimed wins in Austria, Germany and Brazil.
 
“The conclusion we came to [of the first year] is positive, for which we mainly have to thank Honda. We did not have engine damage or technical issues with the drivetrain," added Marko.
 
“We did change engines and taken a grid penalty for that, but that was a deliberate choice.
 
“This had nothing to do with the reliability, but because of power gains and development.
 
“The cooperation with Honda went very well straight from the first test day and is only getting better. Honda did what they promised.
 
“We are pleased, we have won three races, and five were within reach. The chassis was not the best, the new rules for the front wing caused us many issues. Only on the Red Bull Ring we started to be competitive.”