Red Bull chiefs want to give Liam Lawson time to adjust after the Kiwi finished dead-last in Sprint Qualifying for the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix.

Lawson has had difficulty adjusting to the Red Bull RB21, suffering a Q1 exit and DNF at the season opener in Australia.

Another new circuit awaited the Kiwi this weekend in Shanghai with Lawson granted just one practice session to prepare ahead of Sprint Qualifying, where things unravelled once again.

While Max Verstappen wound up second in Friday’s session, Lawson was dumped out at the first hurdle, propping up the field in SQ1.

Four tenths off of the Dutchman in his first flying run, Lawson saw his second attempt struck from the timesheet after running wide at Turn 9.

Struggling to cool his Medium Pirelli rubber ahead of the blast, Lawson’s lap was fraught with low grip and he was seen grappling with his Red Bull RB21 before his untimely Sprint Qualifying exit.

“I went off, so yeah, it’s obviously a shame,” a downbeat Lawson said after SQ1. 

“I think from a starting point it wasn’t too bad, the first lap was alright, and then we were just looking to build on there. 

“But we stayed out to try to cool the tyres on track, and to be honest I really struggled to get the temps down starting the second lap.

“Basically we started too hot and then through the lap I just struggled. It’s frustrating.

“It’s really a shame because I think honestly, we started okay in Quali.

“The first lap wasn’t amazing but it was relatively okay, so it’s just a shame to be out for something so frustrating.

Given his team-mate qualified second, it’s no wonder Lawson believed “Our pace should be a lot further up than where we are.

“Obviously we have tomorrow’s sprint race to try and learn some stuff and then tomorrow’s quali as well, obviously. We want to do a better job on this.”

Marko and Horner taking pressure off of Lawson

The typically harsh Helmut Marko was more sympathetic to Lawson’s struggles when speaking with the Dutch arm of Motorsport.com.

“It’s sad, but he needs some laps and he must get in a rhythm to show his potential,” the Austrian said.

“I think we have to give him more time. Both circuits, he didn’t know, Melbourne and this one. 

“So we’re looking forward and of course first, next to Max, it looks also that our car is quite difficult to drive.”

Team Principal Christian Horner’s assessment of the Lawson situation was similar when approached to comment by Sky Sports‘ Martin Brundle ahead of Friday’s session.

“We’re only at race two,” Horner said. 

“It’s a circuit he’s never seen before. So I think we have to be fair and give him time. And he will he will get there. 

“But we just need to give him the back and give him time. And, you know, he’s in a highly pressured seat. And it doesn’t get any easier.”

Later in Friday’s press conference, Horner continued his Lawson analysis.

“I think Liam’s got a pretty sensible head on his shoulders,” Horner added. 

“It was a tough baptism for him [in Melbourne]. 

“He still came away with the second fastest race lap. And I just told him: “Ignore the naysayers, ignore social media, put your head down and you’ll be fine.” 

“He just needs a bit of time.”

Time is something Lawson has been granted by Red Bull and the crucial element he needs to find out on track.

READ MORE – Christian Horner highlights positive from incident-ridden Liam Lawson Red Bull F1 debut

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Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner is unsure how the latest clampdown on flexi-wings will impact the Formula 1 pecking order as Alpine is forced to make a change.

The FIA informed teams ahead of the new season that front wing flex-limitations will be restricted as of Round 9, with rear wing flex restrictions in place at the season opener to the tune of 2 mm vertical movement on the main plane under a load of 75 kg. 

However, during pre-season testing, Red Bull Technical Director Pierre Wache accused the likes of McLaren and Ferrari of abusing rear-wing flex rules, a phenom colloquially referred to as ‘mini-DRS’ after Oscar Piastri’s MCL38 was scrutinised in Baku last year.

The FIA found no teams in breach of rear wing flex regulations at the season-opener in Melbourne, but its surveillance prompted a new technical directive, effective for this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix, slashing the flexibility limit from 2mm to 0.5mm.

McLaren, Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes haven’t had to make changes as a result of the Technical Directive, but there has been a change for some of the midfield outfits.

Haas Team Principal Ayao Komatsu told the Sky Sports broadcast team during practice at the Shanghai International Circuit that the VF-25 has had to stiffen its rear wing after being close to the margin on the 2mm limit in Melbourne.

As well as this, Alpine Racing Director Dave Greenwood confirmed to Motorsport.com that his team has made a change.

“We’ve had to do some work back at the factory to make sure we were in a correct place here, but I think that’s fairly normal in these situations,” he said. 

“When a rule and an allowance of deflection changes, you need to check that you are going to be able to comply with that as well.

“I think you can imagine the time scales were very small, so it’s not like you can do something revolutionary. But yeah, there are things we can do to make sure we comply.”

Horner unsure of TD impact

Given that none of the top four teams have admitted to making changes, adamant that the rear wing flexibility has been adhered to both at Melbourne and Shanghai, it’s hard to see how this latest technical directive will impact the pecking order.

This was predominantly the thoughts of Horner when he was asked about the new rules during Friday’s press conference in China.

“Well, I mean, the FIA, it’s their job obviously to police these things,” Horner said. 

“They obviously saw things that they weren’t particularly happy with at the last race.

“So therefore, as is their prerogative, they’ve tightened up those regulations through TD that came out this week. 

“Now, what effect it has up and down the grid, I really don’t know. 

“But that’s just part and parcel of Formula 1. TDs are almost forthcoming on a weekly basis.”

What could create a bigger impact, is the front wing flex clampdown in Spain later this year.

Horner has already commented on the matter, querying the timing.

“Yeah, it’ll be interesting the effect that it has – I guess the slight oddball about it is the timing of it,” Horner said.

“Why race nine? It might have been better to have been addressed during the off-season, because you end up doing sort of two specs of wings.

“But who will gain or who will lose from it, I think, is impossible to predict.”

READ MORE – Lando Norris: McLaren ‘not pushing rear-wing flex limits enough’ amid China clampdown

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Red Bull boss Christian Horner delivered some tongue-in-cheek strategy advice to Ferrari after the Italian squad’s wet weather blunder in the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix.

A Lap 44 rain shower prompted emergency action from race leader Lando Norris as the McLaren driver dived into the pits for Intermediate tyres, shortly after almost falling to the same fate of Oscar Piastri in the Turn 13 grass.

Max Verstappen gambled on conditions drying out, and didn’t pit for a further two laps and whatever way Red Bull looked at the situation, pitting a lap earlier wouldn’t have made much difference.

“We looked at the data, he would have been just behind,” Horner told select media including Motorsport Week regarding Verstappen’s prospects if he’d pitted on Lap 45.

Ferrari, meanwhile, gambled even longer than Red Bull and at one point Lewis Hamilton even led the race with team-mate Charles Leclerc in third.

But the rain kept falling, despite Ferrari forecasting to its drivers otherwise and when Norris came past both Scuderia drivers on his intermediates, it was clear a gamble had failed.

Ferrari double-stacked on Lap 48 and fell to ninth and 10th respectively.

“It looked like they were taking a bit of a gamble, and then they probably aborted at the worst time,” Horner said.

“So yeah, I haven’t followed their race plot that closely. From the pit wall, that’s sort of what it looked like.”

The Red Bull boss then offered some simple, but punchy advice.

I think you’ve always got to react to very much what’s going on around you,” he said.

“When it’s p***ing down in the pit lane, it’s usually a good time to put some wet tyres on.”

Ferrari admits to ‘wrong call’

Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur admitted post-race that his team got things wrong at the Albert Park Circuit.

“It was a strange situation because Sector 1 and 2 were still dry and Sector 3 was wet,” he said.

“It was a kind of bet…we bet on the fact we have to stay on track and wait for the last part of the race with slicks. 

“When Mercedes and McLaren pitted two laps before, we went at the wrong time, the best option was to pit on the same lap as Max [Verstappen] and we made the wrong call.

“But this is very difficult…we don’t have a sense of the rain, it is more of a feeling and what we can see on the screen and have on the radar from corner to corner,” he said. 

“We were all surprised about the quantity of rain at this stage of the race, McLaren first, to stay on track with the slicks and just survive at the end it is easy to say it was the wrong call.”

READ MORE – Red Bull lodges ‘accusatory file’ against McLaren and Ferrari to FIA – report

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Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has revealed the team plans to introduce upgrades to its 2025 Formula 1 car in the next “three to five races” in a bid to catch McLaren.

The sweeping consensus that McLaren would be leading the pack was realised as Lando Norris converted pole position at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen pushed Norris in the opening and closing stages, but those attacks sandwiched a spell where he dropped 14 seconds in 10 laps to the McLaren duo.

With Verstappen’s initial challenge wilting as his Intermediates degraded, Marko admitted that McLaren’s advantage lies in the MCL39 being more gentle on the tyres.

READ MORE – Red Bull highlights ‘quite strange’ McLaren advantage in F1 2025

However, Marko has divulged that Red Bull has developments in the pipeline tailored towards addressing the limitations that are behind the current deficit to McLaren.

“We knew from the tests in Bahrain that the McLarens were quite a bit faster than us,” Marko told Viaplay.

“We reduced this advantage, I would say, from half a second to two or three tenths.

“We can follow them for six to eight laps, but then our tyre degradation comes earlier.

“That’s the main problem, with some other problems as well.

“But we know them, and they are working hard. In three to five races hopefully we can cure it, so that we have a car on the same level as the McLaren.”

Red Bull has ‘good platform’ to develop in 2025

Red Bull harboured the dominant package under this rules period until a misstep in development in 2024 induced balance issues which allowed McLaren to eclipse it.

But Red Bull boss Christian Horner is optimistic the team has a strong base to improve the RB21 having eradicated the capricious traits embedded in its predecessor.

“We did some big set up changes in Bahrain [in pre-season testing],” Horner explained to media including Motorsport Week.

“So, we purposely wanted to go to extremes to understand the set up parameters, so that you’ve got your toolbox of knowledge when you go racing.

“I think the characteristics that this car has is much calmer than [the] RB20. I think actually it’s a platform to develop through the season.

“There’s not the nasty snaps that there was on [the] RB20.

“So that gives us a good dynamic platform for us to develop the car through the season. Through all the different races that we’re going to head to.”

READ MORE – Christian Horner highlights positive from incident-ridden Liam Lawson Red Bull F1 debut

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Red Bull boss Christian Horner has identified a positive from Liam Lawson’s incident-ridden debut with the team at the 2025 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix.

Lawson had a baptism of fire with Red Bull at the Albert Park Circuit last weekend.

A technical issue cost the New Zealander his entire FP3 session and the ill preparation made way for a startling Q1 exit in qualifying.

His difficult acclimation to the RB21 was compounded in mixed conditions on race day, whereby Lawson failed to make forward progress until a late burst of rain presented an opportunity.

Opting to stay out on slicks when the Lap 44 shower came, Lawson found himself in the Turn 2 wall three laps later.

Far from the result Lawson or Red Bull would have wanted, Horner was able to look on the bright side, pulling a positive scrap of data from the dry phase of the GP.

“It was a difficult weekend for him,” Horner acknowledged in a conversation with select media including Motorsport Week.

“We changed the car to put a bit more downforce on the car. It’s a very hard track to overtake at. 

“We took the risk of leaving him out long because he was outside the points. 

“We thought, roll the dice, maybe it will come right. But at exactly the point that it started to rain more [he crashed]. It’s difficult to blame him for that last spin, Horner assessed, explaining the cause behind Lawson’s accident. 

“I think the one flash of light that he can take out of it, is that on the dry tyres, he actually posted the second fastest lap time of the Grand Prix, he did a 22.9 versus Max’s 23.0, Lando 22.1. 

“So I think if there was one positive we can take [is] that his pace actually on the dry was not too bad.”

Horner: Lawson is ‘resilient’

Horner also told of the impact missing FP3 had on Lawson, citing mistakes in his qualifying performance, that with better preparation would likely have been avoided.

“I think the problem is having missed FP3, on the back foot, and then the pressure builds,” he said. 

“He grabbed the brake on the second set of tyres and then the third set of tyres, he was half a second up, and then another mistake there.”

With a Sprint weekend looming in China, at a circuit Lawson doesn’t know, Horner predicts another difficult weekend for the New Zealander but hailed his resilience.

“I think next weekend will be tough because it’s a Sprint race and a track that he’s not been to before, but he’s pretty resilient,” Horner said. 

“This weekend wasn’t representative of what he’s capable of.”

Lawson admits to struggles

Speaking post-race, Lawson was well aware of the difficulties he had to contend with in Australia.

With regards to the late tyre gamble, he said “We took a chance, hoping that at least half of the track would stay dry. 

“We knew that sector three was bad, but we thought that sector one would stay a bit drier, so we carried on. Unfortunately, it was bucketing down with rain.

“At that point, to be honest, I’d backed out of pushing because it was so wet. I was just trying to stay on the track. But obviously, it’s not ideal.”

Lawson added “Yeah, we were really struggling to be honest. I had a lot of tyre issues with the front early on in the race, so it’s just been a tough weekend.”

READ MORE – Liam Lawson highlights his role at Red Bull in F1 2025

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Red Bull boss Christian Horner contended it is “quite strange” that McLaren’s 2025 Formula 1 car can generate heat in the tyres without a compromise to degradation.

McLaren began the new campaign as it ended the previous one: on top as Lando Norris converted pole position to prevail in the season-opening round in Albert Park.

But while Max Verstappen pushed Norris to the line, the chaos that ensued in changeable conditions at Melbourne disguised McLaren’s true advantage over its rivals.

Verstappen had mixed it with the McLaren duo in the nascent stages until troubles with tyre degradation on the Intermediates saw his challenge wane at a rapid rate.

Having split Norris and Oscar Piastri up to Lap 17, Verstappen dropped behind the latter with a mistake at Turn 11 and proceeded to lose 14 seconds across 10 laps.

The Dutchman capitalised on several Safety Cars and more rain descending to pressurise Norris in the closing laps, but he was unable to pass the wounded McLaren.

“I think that McLaren obviously have a well-balanced car,” Horner told media including Motorsport Week. “Particularly in sector three, they look strong.

“Max made a good start, got a little boxed in, but then a great move around the outside of Oscar and was able to challenge [Norris] a little.

“But I think we were just a little heavier on the tyre, particularly in the last sector. So then that gap started to open. Oscar was able to get back past Max.

“It was interesting though, because right at the end on the Inters, it started to come back again. We started to look very competitive again.

“At the pit stop we went on to the mediums and I was somewhat surprised to see everybody going on to hards on a damp track. We felt that would give better warm-up and so on.

“Then the rain came again and it was only wet really in the last sector. The first two sectors were quick and it very nearly paid off to get the overcut and get the lead.

“But in the end, when it all played out, he managed to jump back up into second for what became an eight-lap shootout to the finish.

“He very nearly nicked it at the end there. So I think Lando looked like he tightened a little bit at the end of the race.

“He made a mistake at Turn 6, went half off the track. That gave Max a little bit of a run at a track that’s very difficult to overtake.

“Then the next lap he got another run. So yeah, a very, very close finish to an exciting race. So for us, I think it’s a very solid start to what’s going to be a marathon of a year.”

Red Bull puzzled by McLaren enigma

Horner admitted McLaren’s MCL39 car being able to produce instantaneous temperature in the tyres whilst sustaining limited degradation is an anomaly on the grid.

“I think it’s different to everybody, yes, and what’s quite strange is that they enjoy great warm-up, but also very low degradation,” he pinpointed.

“Usually one comes at the expense of the other. So, they certainly at this circuit seem to have mastered that.”

Asked whether improved balance would help with tyre preservation, Horner replied: “When you’ve got a car that’s very well balanced, the whole world looks different.

“It’s always an interaction between aero and mechanical,” he expanded.

“You can see the McLaren, they’ve got it in a very sweet spot, particularly for this circuit. Then with that comes very good degradation. The car is very kind on its tyres.”

READ MORE – McLaren reveals Lando Norris won F1 Australian GP with ‘badly damaged’ floor

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Christian Horner denied pitting Max Verstappen a lap earlier late on in the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix would have granted Red Bull driver an unlikely victory over McLaren.

Verstappen cooly slotted past McLaren’s Oscar Piastri on the opening lap at Albert Park, but a mistake on Lap 17 running deep at Turn 11 to relinquish second place to the Australian.

As the conditions transitioned from wet to dry, Verstappen suffered massively, dropping well back from the McLarens who conserved their Intermediate tyres well.

A Lap 34 Safety Car period triggered by Fernando Alonso’s crash prompted the field to switch to slick Pirelli rubber, Verstappen opting for mediums over the McLaren duo selecting Hard Tyres.

The race momentarily turned on its head at the end of Lap 44 as sudden rainfall saw the two Mclarens run wide with Piastri getting stuck in the grass and eventual winner Lando Norris diving into the pits to put on Intermediates.

Verstappen toured for a further two laps before making his change, surrendering track position to do so and Horner was asked whether stopping earlier would have granted the Dutchman an unlikely victory over McLaren.

“No, we looked at the data,” Horner responded to select media including Motorsport Week.

“He would have still been just behind. 

“That’s why we were hoping if the weather… then that would have given us that position.”

Red Bull rolled the dice

Given McLaren had the edge over its rivals in Australia, the late rain shower presented Red Bull with an opportunity.

If it had been brief, rather than rain persisting for several laps, Red Bull’s gamble to stay out longer on the slick tyre would have paid off.

“Yeah, that’s where you’re working with the driver,” Horner said. 

“The first two sectors were quicker. The third sector was so much down at that point. 

“We knew that the rain wasn’t going to hang around for long. 

“If you could just bank that track position, it’s so valuable here because you just can’t overtake. So that’s what we were rolling the dice a little for. 

“McLaren were super conservative. Both of their drivers had big moments. 

“It looked like it might just play out but, if the rain had veered off, then we could have been lucky. 

“But congratulations to Lando. He drove a good race today, and in difficult conditions for all of the drivers.”

Horner concluded on a positive note. 

“But we take a lot of encouragement out of that race, and the pace we had at the end,” he said, acknowledging how Verstappen harried Norris in the final few laps. 

“The other teams, it was clear what the pecking order was today in terms of pace.”

READ MORE – Red Bull highlights ‘joker’ card against McLaren in 2025 F1 battle

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Formula 1 is set to impose a new restriction on flexi-wings at the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix, which has received varied predictions from the motorsport chiefs.

After Round 9 of the upcoming season, the maximum flex of the front wings will be reduced from 15mm to 10mm, whereas new rear wing restrictions will come into effect immediately.

The regulation change comes after McLaren and Mercedes were accused of abusing the flexi-wing restrictions in 2024, which led to the FIA ordering a technical directive at the Belgian Grand Prix.

The governing body found no wrongdoing, to the frustration of Red Bull and Ferrari, and it vowed not to change its rules going forward.

However, in the months building up to the new season, the FIA went back on its word and introduced stricter rear wing flex tests to start from the Australian Grand Prix, then harsher tests for the front wing in Spain.

Aston Martin Team Principal, Andy Cowell, isn’t concerned by the new directive, and he feels it really isn’t a “big fuss”.

“I think everybody’s always had a flexi wing, and the FIA have always come up with a way of measuring the flexibility that’s permitted,” Cowell told media including Motorsport Week.

“The numbers change, we’ll adapt to that. I don’t see it as a big fuss, we’ll move forward.

“It’s another flexible element regulation interpretation change.

“I don’t know how many have been over the last two decades.

“You’ll know better than me.”

Horner and Brown deliver verdicts on flexi wing restrictions

Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner and McLaren CEO Zak Brown also gave their opinions on the effect of the flexi wing clampdown and both held similar views on the topic.

Horner believes it will be difficult to assess which teams, if any, suffer massively from the incoming flexi-wing regulation changes.

Yet, he was more concerned by the timing of when the rules are set to be enforced, suggesting teams will continue to exploit the current regulations until then.

“Yeah, it’ll be interesting the effect that it has – I guess the slight oddball about it is the timing of it,” Horner said.

“Why race nine? It might have been better to have been addressed during the off season, because you end up doing sort of two specs of wings.

“But who will gain or who will lose from it, I think, is impossible to predict.”

Brown agreed, insisting how he expects for there to be very little change from the outcome of the regulation change.

“I don’t think it’s a significant change for us,” he explained.

“I think it’s too hard to tell who wins or loses over it, because I don’t think it’s going to be a material change for anybody.

“I’m not expecting there to be a winner and loser, or some change in the pecking order at that time because of that change.”

READ MORE: Red Bull lodges ‘accusatory file’ against McLaren and Ferrari to FIA – report

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Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner has pinpointed that sustainable fuels will be the “biggest area of differential” in the 2026 Formula 1 regulations.

Next year sees F1 undergo a radical overhaul as chassis and power unit regulations will change together.

On the power unit side of the regulations, the 1.6 litre turbo V6 hybrid powertrain has been retained, but with notable tweaks.

The MGU-H system will be scrapped, electrification will be ramped up to account for a 50/50 power split and 100% sustainable fuels will be introduced.

There’s speculation that 2026 will be an engine dominated formula, akin to the 2014 introduction of the hybrid powertrains but Horner, whose Red Bull outfit will produce engines in-house for the first time in collaboration with Ford, believes sustainable fuels will be a key differentiator between teams.

All 10 teams have respective fuel partners that will help them in this technical background, with success in this area sure to hand certain teams an edge.

“It’s a massive change,” Horner said of the 2026 regulations. 

“It’s probably the biggest change F1 has had in 50 years where both chassis regs and engine regs are changing coterminously. That will create inevitable divergence. 

“It’s a big set of regulation movements. The ratio between chassis and engine, also how that plays out. 

“It’s exciting for us, coming with our own power unit in collaboration with Ford for 2026. 

“For sure, fuel, going to 100% sustainable fuel in 2026 is probably the biggest area of differential that you’ll have. It’s exciting for us working with ExxonMobil, seeing the progress that’s being made in what will inevitably become a very competitive area.”

Hard to tell if F1 2026 will be PU-dominated – Zak Brown

McLaren CEO Zak Brown believes it’s “hard to tell” whether 2026 will be a power unit-dominated formula.

Regardless of this point, Brown has the view that just like any regulations, the power units will converge over time.

It’s a matter that is considered differently by Brown than Horner.

Horner’s Red Bull outfit is becoming an OEM from 2026 whereas McLaren will continue to be a customer of Mercedes High Performance Powertrains (HPP).

“Definitely with the big changes in the power unit, I think just like racing cars converge over time, power units will converge over time,” said Brown. 

“I think there is an element of risk that new regulations will separate the field further, not just power units. 

“It’s a significant design change. I think we’re still working through it. 

“There are definitely some concerns to make sure that we get the balance right in how we go racing. 

“It won’t be flat out all the time. I don’t think that’s going to be the case. That’s not the case now, but it is somewhat invisible to the fan. 

“In terms of the fuel we’ve mentioned, that’s something we defer to HPP on as they supply us our fuel.”

READ MORE – George Russell admits Pirelli’s 2026 F1 tyres ‘quite a step worse’

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Red Bull has quashed speculation that it could be poised to introduce some sizeable modifications to the RB21 on the final day of Formula 1 pre-season testing in Bahrain.

The Austrian squad delivered a surprise when it unveiled a 2025 car that is near-identical to the RB20 predecessor that it experienced complications with last season.

Red Bull dominated the nascent rounds in the previous campaign, but mid-season updates induced balance problems which made the car more troublesome to handle.

That triggered speculation that Red Bull harboured a plan to bolt on more noticeable upgrades that would transcend the RB21’s appearance compared to its initial outings.

But while the team will have some minor revisions that Max Verstappen will sample, Red Bull Technical Director Pierre Wache has denied those changes will be extreme.

“No, it will not be radically different,” he told PlanetF1.com. “We will evaluate parts. It’s true that, based on the calendar and everything, but I think everybody’s doing the same.

“Nothing has changed compared to previous years. You have your baseline car, and you try to have some stuff from the full system of development to come to the track as soon as possible and, based on the capacity of manufacturing the part and everything.

“You try to evaluate before race one. I think we have some new parts coming for day three, but it is not massively different.

“For sure, everybody’s doing this, you have some small parts to evaluate.

“It was planned for race one, but we try to push it a little bit for day three here because it gives us a possibility to see whether the direction is correct or not, but it’s not magic.”

Red Bull will have similar car in Australia

Wache admission echoed Christian Horner’s assessment as the Red Bull boss stated that the car in testing will be similar to the one that races in the opening round in Australia.

“It’s basically the car that we will start the season with,” he told media including Motorsport Week.

“There may be some subtle changes introduced between now and then, but fundamentally, it’s what will be taken to Melbourne.”

Red Bull not at performance ‘ceiling’ with current rules

Red Bull has been consistent in vowing that the squad’s ambition with the RB21 is to equip the drivers with a car that has a wider operating window and is more predictable.

But with the team also chasing marginal gains under the current rules, Wache has admitted that ensuring the drivers are able to unlock that potential is the big challenge.

Asked how much headroom is available in the last campaign with the contemporary ground effect regulations, Wache responded: “I don’t know the ceiling.

“I know that it is difficult to find performance.

“It’s very difficult if you stay in the regulation box. It’s the nature of the regulation, every type of regulation, that after two or three years, you start to be more on the plateau and it’s more difficult in the real world and developments start to be less and, after that, it’s based on risk.

“Us, I’m not sure we are at the ceiling. We can find more potential, maybe… it’s more where you find it.

“If it’s not usable by the driver, it’s a big issue. What we can find in terms of performance, and maybe not the ceiling, is how we can develop the car so that the driver can.”

READ MORE – Red Bull confident it has resolved 2024 car issues with the RB21

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