(Motorsports news) At the Hungarian Grand Prix, the Milton Keynes-based team Red Bull, created F1 history by becoming the first team to win 12 straight races thanks to Max Verstappen’s victory. It surpassed McLaren’s spectacular run from 1988, when Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost helped the team win 11 straight races before losing at the Italian Grand Prix.
The largest change Red Bull has made this season to its sidepods and floor contributed to its performance in Hungary. But according to Red Bull team manager Christian Horner, the changes might be the final performance enhancements of the year because the team must carefully consider how to divide up its wind tunnel development time as it moves toward the RB20.
“They did what they said on the tin,” Horner said in reference to the upgrades. In that sense, it can be considered completed. And now, with the disadvantage we have, we really need to shift our attention to next year, because we have a substantial amount less wind tunnel time than our rivals and need to be extremely careful with how we use it.
Teams that are higher in the standings at particular times of the year receive reduced access for both wind tunnel and CFD runs thanks to F1’s aerodynamic testing restrictions.
Red Bull only receives 70% of the standard allocation despite being in first place in the championship at the mid-season cut-off point. Compare that to Ferrari at 85%, Aston Martin at 80%, and Mercedes at 75%. But perhaps more intriguingly, McLaren receives 95% of what is permitted despite a terrible start to the season that placed them in sixth place in the constructors’ championship at the cutoff.
In addition to the official cap, Red Bull will also have to cut back on running by an additional 10% as a result of the fine it received for violating the expense cap last year. When everything was put into practice, according to Horner, the contrasts between what his team could do and that of its competitors were astounding.
“Red Bull have that cost cap penalty until October this year, so particularly in terms of the amount of runs that you can do per week, we’re significantly down compared to second and third place,” the speaker remarked. “And once you get back to teams that are fourth or fifth, we are significantly behind. And there is an enormous, huge disparity between the number of wind tunnel runs that McLaren can perform and those that we can.
Therefore, it goes without saying that we must use extreme caution when running. And because of this, the technical team at Milton Keynes is doing an amazing job of building the car in an effective and efficient manner. Any more changes to the car, according to Horner, would be circuit-specific, maybe involving low-drag components for events like Spa and Monza, as the focus would now be on 2024.
Also read: Leclerc: Radio issues caused the intense atmosphere in the Hungarian Formula One race
