Christian Horner with Max Verstappen that Red Bull’s rivals in Formula 1 deserve to close the functionality hole next year.
The RB19 has been fast enough to win just one of this year’s 22 races. And while his rivals made some progress throughout the season, Verstappen continues with his own elegance at the end of the season.
Red Bull have been designing their RB20 for the 2024 campaign for months now. And, naturally, given the success of its predecessor, the team is option for a policy of “evolution, not revolution” when putting together their newest creation.
But Horner’s team is already much closer to the limit of functionality of F1’s existing regulations. His progression speed is expected to decrease much faster than that of his rivals.
The long-time team principal says he’s already noticed symptoms that this is happening. “I’m absolutely hoping – with strong regulations and diminishing returns for us because I think we’ve reached the most sensitive part of the curve faster than others – that the box is going to converge,” Horner said.
“There’s always a reset as you go into the following year, and I’m convinced that you’ll see a lot more cars that perhaps look like an RB19 philosophy. If you stand still in this business, you tend to be going backwards. And I think that we have got up that curve quicker than others. But we’re into a law of diminishing returns.”
His words confirm what Verstappen already predicted about the 2024 campaign. While Red Bull have been untouchable for the vast majority of this year, the Dutchman has no doubt that his rivals will put even more pressure on him next season.
Watch all the Formula 1 action on Sky Sports and get exclusive access to races, qualifying and more for each and every Grand Prix. From Max Verstappen to Lewis Hamilton, you might not miss a lap on Sky Sports.
“The others will take their cars and come up to us,” he said on BBC Radio Five Live’s season review programme. “I don’t think it’s realistic to get back to that winning pace. But it’s good. To already have a season like the one we had is crazy.
“The others are not stupid. They are all learning. Of course, the longer you keep the regulations the same, the closer it will get, because people start to understand which direction they have to develop in. Luckily, we hit the ground running really well with the regulations [in 2022], but I definitely expect next year, for sure, all will definitely take a step towards us.
“I don’t know which team in particular, because if you look at the overall season, there have been ups and downs for everyone, including us, so I don’t know this winter which team is going to make the biggest jump. ” “I hope they stay behind, but we will see in Bahrain. “
Get email updates with the day’s biggest stories