Red Bull Racing can almost start building the Formula 1 car for the new season. Things are looking good for the time being, says team boss Christian Horner.
The Red Bull Racing factory in Milton Keynes is working hard on the RB18, the Formula 1 car that Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez will drive next season. Expectations are of course high, as Verstappen hopes to be able to defend his world title with it. Team boss Christian Horner is already lifting a corner of the veil regarding the progress: “So far he has achieved most of the goals,” he explains to Racingnews365. “It’s going to be a lot of work, but it’s starting to take shape.”
The car is literally taking shape, because, according to Horner, the goal is to assemble the first RB18 next week. For the first time, it will be more than a computer model and a pile of parts. The first time the car is actually kicked on its tail is before the first week of winter testing in Barcelona, ​​which starts on February 23. “We’re doing the usual shakedown.” In the past, that was a filming day at the Silverstone circuit, where no more than 100 km are allowed to be driven. In about a month we will see the RB18 in action for the first time.
The Spanish marca would have understood from Red Bull that the RB18 in the simulator is already faster than last year’s car. That in itself would be surprising, as it is generally assumed that the cars will be slower next year than in 2021 due to the adjusted regulations (less aerodynamic ingenuity on the car, higher minimum weight). At the same time, there are already reports from various quarters that other teams do not consider the difference in lap times as big as expected. In any case, Horner expects it to be interesting: “With such a big rule change, there are winners and losers. Unexpected results are possible, depending on what everyone has come up with.”
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl