Red Bull optimises F1 rules the best: 'That's the key'

Red Bull Racing 's car this season has been dominant. The RB19 won the first 12 races of the season (overwhelmingly), which is even a Formula 1 record. Pierre Waché, technical director at Red Bull, explains which points of the dominant bolide have been particularly addressed compared to the RB18 and what is one of the keys to its successful performance.

The Austrian team has yet to lose a (sprint) race in 2023 and only failed to win qualifying twice (in Azerbaijan and Hungary). At Spa-Francorchamps, although Charles Leclerc started from pole position, Max Verstappen was fastest in qualifying and had to start from P6 due to a grid penalty.

The RB18 and RB19 have some similar strengths, such as impressive top speed and excellent tyre management. Still, there was something the team was keen to tweak for this season's battle weapon. "Our goal for this season was to improve the efficiency under braking," Waché told L'Équipe.

Of course, Verstappen and Sergio Perez 's team did not only look at the brakes. "We have also tightened the stiffness of our suspensions. It is the key to how the ground effect works. So we worked on the linkages of the rods and also the stiffness of the springs that have to react when the car brakes. All this has to be done in conjunction with the aerodynamic concept: this suspension should not interfere with the flow, but rather help it work better. A suspension is only effective if it fits a concept."