19/02/2024
NEWS STORY
First thoughts on the RB20 suggest that despite talk of convergence, Red Bull isn't going to give up the titles without a fight.
At a time drivers are insisting that one or two wins will not be enough and that Red Bull is "beatable", whilst rivals seek to emulate the winning features of the RB20's predecessors, Adrian Newey has thrown down the gauntlet by taking things just a little further despite the obvious restriction of the almost unchanged regulations.
"I'm quite happy with the direction that they chose," Verstappen told reporters at today's launch. "I saw the drawings I think in Abu Dhabi, the last race, and I was like, 'wow, that's quite different in a way'.
"They've not been conservative," he grinned, "let's say that.
"I think what I like about the team is that we had a great package, but they took the chance to really go all out, I would say and try to make it better," he continued. "Of course, time will tell if it's really, really good. But from what I see within the team everyone is just happy with what they have achieved in the winter. But then again, we don't know. We can't control what the other people did."
However, on the back of last season, when the RB19 became the most successful F1 car in the history of the sport, winning all but one race, some might feel the Austrian team should have opted for a mere evolution as opposed to the radical approach it has clearly taken with its new contender.
"There are no signs that we got it wrong," insisted Verstappen. "I think it's controlled aggressiveness... everyone is happy. It doesn't seem like it's a question mark of what they've done, like, they're not entirely sure."
Asked for his first impressions after driving the car at Silverstone earlier in the week, he laughed: "Slippery! It was wet and cold. But everything was fine.
"It's literally just a filming day, the car started up well, it's about just making sure that once they've put the car together that everything is running, because basically from there, the car basically gets sent to Bahrain.
"That's where it really starts," he continued, "you really start to learn more about the car, you put the proper programme together, and you do a lot of different kinds of running."
Check out our RB20 gallery, here.