Red Bull remains a mystery: the team did not conduct long runs during last week’s tests in Bahrain and did not appear to be at the peak of competitiveness with the RB21, a car that has been corrected from the mistakes seen last year.
Pierre Waché, technical director of Milton Keynes, spoke about the intention to widen the car’s operating window, even at the cost of sacrificing some outright performance, which was the strength of the dominant RB19 in the 2023 championship.
Max Verstappen was blunt: “The RB21 cannot be worse than last year’s car.” However, the four-time world champion hinted that the chosen path is the right one and that the difficulties encountered in Sakhir concern development areas where engineers still need to work.
Even though the new Red Bull does not appear revolutionary at first glance, every area of the RB21 has been revised in the pursuit of increased performance.
A clear example is the braking system: all teams, in the final year of the current ground-effect regulations, have chosen not to invest resources in braking systems, instead allocating funds to the revolutionary 2026 regulation changes. Not Red Bull, which developed a new caliper with Brembo, drawing on lessons learned last season.
A Giorgio Piola photograph taken in Bahrain reveals a new design aimed at improving brake caliper cooling. It is easy to see that the number of pins in the external structure has multiplied. These “needles” in contact with the air help extract more heat, providing greater stability under braking and enhancing the reigning world champion’s performance.
Another area that has undergone changes is the rear diffuser: in the fairing around the gearbox casing, two channels wrap around the pointed keel, indicating a different airflow management approach. The prominent lower beam wing is essentially an extension of the diffuser, while the upper seagull-wing element remains flat.
These are subtle modifications, just like the repositioning of the radiators, which has altered weight distribution. The turbo intercooler, which was placed in a V-shape beneath the water and oil radiators on the RB20, has been moved further back, closer to the floor, while other cooling components have been relocated above the Honda engine. This frees up space for airflow, improving the efficiency of the rear wing.
The exaggerated “bazooka” cooling outlet from the 2024 car has been redesigned, now featuring a single intake on either side of the Halo attachment. A highly sculpted engine cover was also tested, with a heat outlet more similar to Ferrari’s SF-25 than the usual Red Bull gill vents.
Many changes have altered the RB21’s nature: it is no coincidence that the team focused on fine-tuning its mechanical and aerodynamic setup rather than conducting long runs.
Red Bull looked like a work in progress, determining the fundamental solutions to use in Melbourne. This was evident in the presence of two different noses—one with an extension connected to the main profile and a shorter version attached to the second element. The front wing also featured different concepts in the flap-to-endplate intersection, with an airflow passage designed to enhance the outwash effect, a clear influence from Mercedes. At Milton Keynes, they have no qualms about adopting rival ideas to maintain competitiveness.
It would be a mistake to consider Red Bull the fourth-best team at the start of the season. They might just be a surprise in Australia…
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