Ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix Adrian Newey was hard at work sorting out tweaks to improve the RB13 to give Red Bull drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen a fighting chance going forward.
In the aftermath of the weekend at the Principality, Newey believes that the car has improved but is cautious as the Formula 1 circus heads to circuits where power is more important than aero efficiency.
Newey said, “I think the car showed reasonably pace, and we’ve just got to keep working at it. Monaco is obviously a fairly unique circuit, but we’ve definitely improved the car. We had a few bits on it this weekend, to compliment what we did in Barcelona. So we’ve just got to keep pushing forwards.”
“Suffice to say we are likely to be less competitive in the next couple of events. They have similar characteristics, although not as extreme as Monza.”
“At the moment we’ve been reasonably clear as third-best team. Obviously we’ve now got to try and move forwards to do more of what we did in Monaco,” added Newey.
Ricciardo finished third, ahead of both Mercedes’ drivers, in Monaco with Verstappen in fifth.
The key to making a significant leap forward, for Red Bull, is the expected Renault updates to the the TAG Heuer power unit, which has lagged in comparison to the pace setting Ferrari and Mercedes power units.
Red Bull were expecting a major update for Canada but Renault have accused the energy drinks outfit of jumping the gun. The French engine builder suggesting that the roll out of updates will be done drip-feed style as opposed to a major upgrade on a given date.
Renault chief Cyril Abiteboul said, “I can guarantee you is, race-by-race, the engine will improve and overall in the season, if you look at the engine software, hardware and also the fuel and lubricants coming from our petroleum partner, I’m sure there is a very decent step to come.” More here>>>
Big Question: Can Red Bull turn around their season and start challenging for wins?