Marko reveals Red Bull Racing's completely new approach post-Bahrain disaster

08:00, 19 Apr

byTim Kraaij

Red Bull Racing adopted a completely new approach in Saudi Arabia. Helmut Marko revealed after the second free practice that the team did not use simulation tools, but relied entirely on the knowledge of the personnel.

After the disastrously run Bahrain Grand Prix for Red Bull Racing, Christian Horner pointed to the outdated wind tunnel as the cause of the problems with the RB21. According to the team principal of Red Bull Racing, the team would repeatedly think they were successful with a certain setup, only to find out once on the track that it did not work.

After the disastrous GP in Bahrain, Red Bull Racing chose a different strategy, as revealed by Marko among others to GPblog: ‘’They (the updates) were massive and we had a new approach, which is working in one direction. I'm not a technician, but it had been major changes.’’

The New Way of Working at Red Bull Racing

The new approach was proposed during the crisis meeting after Bahrain: ‘’Everybody was very open, all the departments. They put all their experience in this setup and we were not relying on the numbers from the simulation’’, Marko told about the new way of working of the Austrian racing team.

‘’We made a small improvement here, so we hope that the same happens in Miami and in Imola. There are some updates, it's not one big upgrade, it's step by step.’’

So the updates that Red Bull Racing brought for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix have apparently resulted in a step forward, although the circuit in Jeddah also seems to play into Red Bull's hands: ‘’Both. This track suits us far more than it was in Bahrain, but we made a step forward’’, reacted Marko to a question from GPblog.

At Mercedes, the Grand Prix of Spain is still pointed to as a possible turning point in the season. Many believe that McLaren will suffer the most from the stricter rules for the flexwings there. ‘’Of course it can change, but no one knows until that moment. So we can't rely on the rules that take effect from Barcelona’’, concluded Marko.

How Verstappen Reacted in Jeddah?

Max Verstappen didn't want to get too excited after the free practices in Jeddah. According to the Dutchman, the long runs were still not competitive enough, and Verstappen also pointed to the circuit as a big advantage.

‘’It's different of course, because it's another track and the grip is very different. But the setup is also completely different. So it's very difficult to compare. But it's clear that we want to be faster.”

Verstappen expressed his reservations on Thursday about blaming the outdated wind tunnel and simulation tools. According to Verstappen, that was too easy, because Red Bull has built enough championship-winning cars with the same wind tunnel.