Toto Wolff highlights Red Bull's floor advantage in New RB20 design
Toto Wolff believes that despite adopting concepts from Mercedes, Red Bull retains its advantage in the critical area of floor downforce generation underlying the RB20's bold new layout.
Red Bull's radical new RB20 chassis for the 2023 Formula 1 season incorporates design elements from Mercedes' controversial concepts of recent years.
However, Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff believes the floor is where Red Bull retains its key advantage.
The Milton Keynes squad could have opted for low-risk evolution having dominated 2022 with 21 wins from 22 races.
Instead, Technical Chief Adrian Newey pursued a bold new direction for the RB20, adopting the minimalist "zeropod" sidepods and vertical inlets that characterized Mercedes' troublesome W13.
Furthermore, the RB20 features distinctive gulleys along its engine cover akin to Mercedes' experimental "Great Wall" design, ditched midway through 2022.
Intriguingly, Wolff suggests both concepts originated from positive wind tunnel data at Red Bull indicating notable performance gains.
This aligns with Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko's revelations that the team drew "ideas" from Mercedes but implemented them less extremely.
Marko added that Newey always preferred running cars without bulky sidepod radiators, hinting at the new design's lineage.
Crucially, Wolff believes underneath the controversial bodywork is where Red Bull retains its advantage - specifically the floor-generating ground effect downforce.
He described the RB20's layout as "not marvellous aesthetically, but it makes sense."
Wolff is convinced from Red Bull's past innovation that they thoroughly validated the design's capabilities before pursuing such an "extremely courageous step."
Reports estimate a 4 km/h top speed benefit for the RB20 over its predecessor at this early stage.
However, Wolff stresses that with modern F1's shift to ground effect, peak downforce and mechanical grip are more critical than straight-line pace.
This represents Red Bull's established area of expertise in recent seasons.
While the Mercedes-inspired sidepod and engine cover transformations may draw attention, Wolff identifies Red Bull's proven floor performance as its principle weapon.
For all the RB20's newfound traits, its fundamental foundations likely remain a key force heading into the new season.
Red Bull will be wary not to upset this balance as pre-season testing gets underway.
Comments ()