Red Bull explains what went wrong with RB20 F1 car

Pink Bull technical director Pierre Wache has delved into the explanations that led the squad to lose the Method 1 constructors’ title in 2024, though Max Verstappen retained his crown to turn into a four-time world champion.

Pink Bull’s season received off to a flying begin with Verstappen profitable 4 of the primary 5 grands prix and main three 1-2s because of Sergio Perez’s contribution.

Nevertheless, the RB20 slipped down the pecking order as McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes took turns on the entrance of the sector in a topsy-turvy marketing campaign. Whereas Verstappen remained an everyday podium contender, which was key to his championship success, his Mexican team-mate failed to complete any of the final 18 grands prix within the prime 5 – which value him his seat, taken by Liam Lawson for 2025.

However Pink Bull didn’t even count on to be dominant initially of the season.

“The season was principally as difficult as we anticipated,” Wache informed Autosport. “I might say we have been extra stunned originally of the season due to the hole we had. We anticipated the entire season to be like the tip of the season, an enormous battle with the others.

“We didn’t count on such an enormous gap in the midst of the season ourselves, however we did count on an enormous battle with others.”

So what went flawed with the RB20? Whereas Pink Bull advisor Helmut Marko previously mentioned the team’s 2025 challenger needing a wider operating window, Wache defined the predominant subject was correlation: the CFD and simulator information didn’t match what occurred on the observe.

“There are a number of elements to that story,” the Frenchman elaborated. “The primary one is the correlation, that the automotive had some completely different traits than what we anticipated by way of aero.

“One other side is that we didn’t count on some parts would have an effect on the automotive efficiency as a lot as they did. They weren’t there by want, however perhaps we didn’t focus sufficient on them. These parts have been nonetheless there on the finish of the season and we now have to repair them for 2025.

“We had a lack of downforce in some areas of the [downforce] map and subsequently we didn’t carry out on observe as we thought we might primarily based on the wind tunnel, so there have been some holes. That may be a correlation subject and by way of supply on observe it was primarily a stability subject.”

The stability issues have been significantly tough to deal with on kerbs and weren’t acted on right away on account of how dominant the RB20 initially was – no automotive received inside two tenths of the polesitting Pink Bull over the primary 5 qualifying periods in 2024.

“I feel we noticed it, however after that the automotive was fast and we didn’t need to modify it massively,” Wache admitted. “Once we got here again to Europe and have been challenged extra by McLaren, then it began to turn into increasingly evident that it was one of many largest points for us to go faster.”

As a consequence, the RB20’s potential wasn’t totally unlocked, Wache stated – although he insisted that going again to older specs would have been detrimental.

“In Qatar the automotive had the identical traits and we have been in a position to win pretty and make the quickest automotive for this observe,” he identified. “So efficiency is at all times relative to the others.”