Despite early-season problems, Max Verstappen secured his second pole position of the year and had real chances for wins, even with a less competitive RB21. In Jeddah, the race was largely decided at the start with Oscar Piastri’s overtaking maneuver and the penalty imposed on Verstappen, which relegated him to second place after the pit stop, leaving him with no opportunity to battle the Australian. McLaren and Red Bull were quite evenly matched in Saudi Arabia, both in qualifying and the race, with the only question being how Piastri managed the pace. Christian Horner’s team collected positive data and impressions, even though the track was naturally favorable for the RB21, so Miami will be crucial for confirming these gains. The American track will mark the second stage of a development process divided into three parts by Pierre Waché and his team, with a fourth stage that will be decisive.
Red Bull and Balancing Issues: The First Adjustments Arrive in Jeddah. Here’s Why They Were Not Announced. It seems that the technical staff from Milton Keynes arrived in Jeddah with the same RB21 that had taken pole and won at Suzuka, with the usual adjustments. However, Pierre Waché’s engineers began a series of modifications to the car, aimed at addressing many of the issues from the start of the season, thereby increasing the potential available to Yuki Tsunoda and, above all, Max Verstappen. The FIA document listing all updates is certainly useful, especially for fans, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. Teams are only required to declare “any visible aerodynamic development.” Over the years, we’ve often discussed “invisible” updates. For example, during the year, teams can update the software for the electric part of the Power Unit, but they can also freely modify mechanical elements (as Mercedes did in Bahrain, without having to declare it) or other elements such as weight or the cooling system, which is exactly what Red Bull did in Jeddah.
One of the issues plaguing the RB21 is its very unstable balance, which, as Max Verstappen has often explained, changes behavior in various corners, shifting from oversteer to understeer, making it often unpredictable. Teams can address this in multiple ways; Pierre Waché’s team started with a weight redistribution, beginning with the cooling system, which now differs radically from last season’s revolutionary setup. It had already been modified earlier this year, and in Saudi Arabia, there was another adjustment, focusing on the rear heat exchanger. But that’s not all. Red Bull also made changes to the floor, but specifically to the lower, non-visible part, which didn’t require official declaration in the FIA document. This is a change that can be considered preparatory for the future, with a more significant package of updates expected in Imola. In Miami, they will continue with this series of small interventions, less radical but potentially helping to put the RB21 in a more optimal operating window and also improve one of the car’s weaknesses: tire management. In Bahrain, the main issue was the lack of rear-end protection, causing tires to overheat too much in qualifying and degrade quickly in the race. This problem wasn’t seen in Jeddah, but there was a call to better protect the front axle. Miami, with its warm temperatures and track characteristics, will present a more demanding challenge, as will Imola, where traction and rear-end management will be key for performance.
The TD on Front Wings: Red Bull’s Confidence and World Championship Hopes Rest on Barcelona At the start of the season, one of Christian Horner’s team’s objectives was to reach Spain with a minimal gap to whoever was leading the championship. Max Verstappen aims to arrive in Barcelona with less than a 25-point deficit, i.e., one race, so that he can fight for the title for the rest of the season. But why so much confidence? The new TD on front wings will debut there, which should significantly reduce the phenomenon of flexible wings, a topic teams have been closely examining in recent years. The team most under scrutiny is McLaren, which many believe will be the most affected by this measure. At Milton Keynes, there is strong conviction, so much so that in the latest AutoRacer live session, Matteo Bobbi reported conversations from the paddock with Red Bull members who stated, “They say McLaren will be ‘nowhere’ from Barcelona onwards,” implying they expect a major drop in performance from the MCL39. “And Max is convinced he can fight for the championship if he arrives at that race still close to them.”
The belief of the teams, not only Red Bull but also Mercedes and Ferrari, as reiterated by George Russell and recently by Charles Leclerc, is not so much due to the idea that McLaren will suddenly lose performance due to a different front wing. At Milton Keynes, they know very well the mind behind the MCL39, Rob Marshall, whose extreme ideas have often been blocked by Red Bull but are believed to have been implemented once he moved to Woking. A flexible wing is a direct performance gain, but also an indirect one, influencing the balance significantly. Today, the MCL39 is perfectly balanced, with superior downforce and unmatched tire management compared to the competition. However, if the upcoming TD impacts this balance, as we’ve seen in other teams, these cars are highly sensitive to any changes, and it’s possible to either find or lose performance by adjusting the right points.
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