Red Bull achieved victory in an incredible 21 out of 22 Grands Prix, thanks to the impressive engineering of the RB19, which ultimately led to Verstappen winning the championship.
Verstappen has denied any suggestions that Red Bull copied elements of Mercedes’ recent cars when creating the RB20.
The reigning champions caused some intrigue when they unveiled the RB20, as its engine gulleys resembled those seen on the W14.
During the dominant 2023 season, Red Bull secured victory in an astonishing 21 out of 22 Grands Prix, thanks to the engineering marvel of the RB19, which resulted in Verstappen winning the championship.
In contrast, Mercedes struggled to achieve consistent performance with the unpredictable W14.
Therefore, when chief designer Adrian Newey described the RB20 as an “evolution” of the title-winning 2023 car, few expected it to draw inspiration from Mercedes’ design philosophy from the previous year.
The unexpected choice of a low-profile sidepod design by Newey and the team surprised other teams on the grid, many of whom had adopted a design philosophy similar to that of the RB19 for the 2024 season.
“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 haven’t played it safe, let’s put it that way.
What I appreciate about the team is that we had a great package, but they took the opportunity to really go all out and try to improve it.
Of course, only time will tell if it’s truly great.
But from what I see within the team, everyone is happy with what they accomplished during the winter.
But again, we can’t control what other people did.”
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Christian Horner also dismissed any claims, stating: “It’s not a strategic move, it’s based on performance and what we’re seeing through our simulation tools.
“Obviously, the car looks visibly different in certain areas compared to last year.
“Only the stopwatch will tell, but in a virtual world, we wouldn’t have chosen this design if we didn’t believe it was better.”
According to the Source formula1news.co.uk