David Coulthard has revealed that Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez informed him that there were ‘no surprises’ with the RB20 during Red Bull’s shakedown session at Silverstone. The reigning world champions have made some drastic changes to their World Championship-winning car ahead of the 2024 season.
Red Bull were a dominant force during the 2023 campaign, winning 21 out of a possible 22 Grands Prix as Verstappen cruised to a third successive Drivers’ Championship crown. Therefore, heading into car launch season, few expected the Milton Keynes-based outfit to reveal major alterations to their design.
However, when the curtain was lifted and the RB20 was revealed to the world last Thursday, the new car seemed to take inspiration from the past two Mercedes challengers. Adrian Newey’s latest production featured sidepod inlets and engine cooling gulleys that were reminiscent of the W14.
Speaking to F1.com about what Verstappen and Perez had told him off the back of the session, Coulthard explained: “Just that it functions as you would expect in those conditions – no surprises.
“I think the technical team were happy with the numbers they were getting in terms of… the things you can get out of that, the cooling and load sensors. Even if you went out and thought the car was amazing in a shakedown, the only thing that matters is Saturday qualifying and ultimately Sunday race [at the first round] in Bahrain.
“It’s a launch iteration… there will be upgrades coming to the test up until the last day and there might even be an upgrade that comes for the Friday of the Bahrain race, and all of these upgrades are expected to change performance, balance and lap time.”
Despite the apparent steps forward made by Red Bull over the winter, Coulthard is wary of the threats that some of the team’s rivals could pose in 2024.
“I don’t have a crystal ball, but you’ve got to believe Ferrari had a strong car last year in terms of single-lap pace,” he continued. “If they’ve managed to improve on whatever it was that was making their race pace difficult then they are a real contender.
“Mercedes were making big strides at the end of the year… McLaren, again, back of the grid in Bahrain, pretty much at the front of the grid in Abu Dhabi, so huge growth during the course of the year.”
