The standings of the second free practice session in Las Vegas certainly do not tell the full story of Red Bull’s Friday in the U.S., but that doesn’t mean the data collected today didn’t provide interesting insights into the competitiveness of the RB20.
The two RB20s finished FP2 in 17th and 19th positions, over 2 seconds off the top and Lewis Hamilton’s best time. This significant gap was certainly influenced by the difficulty in completing a good lap on the soft tire. Both Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez had actually gone out with the softer compound but couldn’t set a time before the red flag came out due to Alex Albon‘s stoppage on track.
From that point onward, all teams focused on long-distance simulations, including Red Bull, but they couldn’t set a more competitive time. However, even with the medium tire, the data was not promising during simulations with low fuel. As confirmed by Christian Horner in interviews, the RB20 was more comfortable on long runs than on a hot lap, with both drivers struggling to extract grip from the tire during time attack attempts.
Additionally, during the qualifying simulation, Sergio Perez highlighted some rear instability under braking, particularly in the final phase of braking. In contrast, the long runs seemed better than what was observed on the dry lap, as indicated by times that, although from a relatively short run, showed a Red Bull closer to its competitors. The issue was that toward the end of the stint, rear degradation began to set in, and by the end of the session, the three-time world champion had reported over the radio that the tires had reached their limit, even though it was a set of medium tires with almost ten laps already completed at the start of the stint.
“On the dry lap, we couldn’t set a time with the soft tires, while on the long run there were better signs, but only partially. Some laps were competitive, but then the rear tires started to drop off, so there were bursts of speed. We just need to find consistency,” said Helmut Marko at the end of the day, pointing out that on long runs, the car seemed more competitive than on the dry lap, but suffered from rear instability.
“We need better balance, and I think we can improve on the single lap. Regarding long runs, however, degradation is the main issue at the moment.” Although part of the deficit on the dry lap is due to Red Bull’s traditionally very conservative engine mappings on Friday, there is another factor to consider in the analysis of the first day: the choice of rear wing.
For the Las Vegas round, Red Bull brought only a low-downforce rear wing, effectively the one used in Monza, and no new updates were listed in the document where teams must register changes. This wing had already been shown to generate more downforce than the rivals’ wings in terms of the mainplane in Italy, with the team only able to adjust the DRS flap, which was cut into two different configurations, as seen in the comparison below. After testing the higher-downforce version of the available wings, both drivers opted for the lower-downforce setup in FP2, but even in this case, the gap to the top was significant.
On the long straight that sees the cars speeding down the Strip, Red Bull loses 5 km/h to McLaren, 3 to Ferrari, and 2 to Mercedes, with the gap actually widening on the final stretch, likely due to less available energy. The issue is that, although the gap is not particularly wide, on such long straights, the disadvantage grows significantly, reaching as much as six tenths behind the rivals. Although, as mentioned, part of the delta comes from Red Bull’s well-known conservative mappings on Friday, it’s clear that with such a high-downforce wing compared to their rivals, it’s very difficult to keep up on the straights.
This is also because the DRS doesn’t help much to offset the speed gap, as Red Bull’s movable wing is simply cut to reduce costs, meaning the difference between the closed and open wing is not as pronounced as that of others. Despite trying everything to improve the situation, including testing the lower-downforce version of the cut flap and removing the gurney flap, Red Bull stated they have to continue working with what they have, as there are no other options available.
Helmut Marko explained that Red Bull does not have a smaller rear wing in its arsenal, which was also not seen in Monza, because the Anglo-Austrian team has not yet invested in a low-downforce version: “We don’t have another rear wing, a smaller rear wing, like we see with our competitors. It would certainly be more useful.”
When asked if the team could work on producing a more downforce-efficient version overnight at their Milton Keynes factory, Marko replied clearly that this is not possible. This helps explain the rear-end management issues, as while Red Bull brought a modified front wing to try to rebalance the car, it’s clear the team was hoping to use the higher-downforce rear wing to improve rear stability. This aspect was also affected by the low grip of the track, but Marko believes Red Bull can still make progress.
“Tomorrow is a different day. Maybe you’ve seen it many times. Other teams are faster on Friday or Thursday, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be fast in the race… Surely, with some setup work, we’ll take a reasonable step forward,” said Red Bull’s advisor.
“This year we’ve often seen Mercedes suddenly become extremely strong and capable of winning. But let’s wait and see tomorrow how it continues. The more grip there is on track, the more the balance of power can shift. But this time they really look strong, which wouldn’t worry us too much if Mercedes does a 1-2 here.”
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