Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has revealed the team is striving to have a more predictable and versatile Formula 1 car in 2024 compared to its troubled predecessor.
Despite sealing a fourth consecutive Drivers’ title with Max Verstappen, Red Bull was unable to retain the Constructors’ Championship as it slipped back to third place.
Red Bull appeared on course to claim a third straight title double under the current ground effect regulations when Verstappen was victorious seven times in 10 races.
However, Red Bull’s advantage was overturned as the team heading down the incorrect direction with car development triggered severe balance issues with the RB20.
But while the side rebounded with updates in Austin helping Verstappen to bag the crown, restrictions with the budget cap meant it was unable to resolve its troubles.
With another tight battle at the top beckoning, Red Bull is under no illusion that it must address its weaknesses to stand a chance of prevailing against the opposition.
Marko has admitted that eradicating the capricious tendencies that became prevalent in 2024 will be essential to the team emerging as a title contender next season.
“I would say that the basic concept is ready,” Marko told Sport1.de.
“The car is de facto finished and it is now going into final production. At that point you see how much weight can be saved.
“The task for the engineers was to build a car that has a wider working window, one that is not so critically on the limit that it is very, very difficult for the drivers to control the car.
“That means better predictability and, if possible, as McLaren has shown, that these performances are delivered on all tracks, not just on specific tracks.”
Red Bull’s competitive decline exposed the long-standing weakness its cars have had with riding bumps and kerbs that its previous dominance had served to conceal.
Marko is confident that Red Bull has implemented a solution which has rectified that area, though he has conceded that won’t be realised until the RB21 hits the track.
“One of our big weaknesses was not being able to drive completely over the kerbs,” the Austrian acknowledged.
“There was that statement by Max that the car jumps like a ‘kangaroo’ [at the Monaco Grand Prix], and on certain tracks that cost us a lot of time.
“So we think these weaknesses have been fixed, but we will only really see that during the test in Bahrain.”
