2024 Oracle Red Bull Racing F1 Team

[f1isgood]

Healthy gap despite huge management. Expect tight quali sessions and some easy wins for Max. Hopefully the lack of 1-lap medium-high speed performance was a decision rather than a trait of the car, but let's see

How did it track in the race? Any idea where Max made up his time today?

Sector 2 mostly.

Extremely happy with today. Hopefully that 2024 season is the same as 2013 with Seb dominanting the field. After watching onboard with Max the car looked amazing in low-speed section of the track.

Thanks, that's good to hear.

[Juzh]

2023 repeat incoming. Maybe not as brutal, but i dont see anyone stealing WDC and WCC from RB.

[vorticism]

2023 repeat incoming. Maybe not as brutal, but i dont see anyone stealing WDC and WCC from RB.

Dumb question: Is Bahrain so illustrative a circuit?

[kediown]

Max expects Jeddah will be closer. Probably the upgrades from Japan and Imola is going to aim for high speed corner performance

[Juzh]

2023 repeat incoming. Maybe not as brutal, but i dont see anyone stealing WDC and WCC from RB.

Dumb question: Is Bahrain so illustrative a circuit?

It was last year.

[Rikhart]

That fastest lap was, dare I say it, ominous.

[AMG.Tzan]

Wasn’t that a Grand Slam by Max?

Pole, Win, Fastest lap, Led every lap

[chrisc90]

Wasn’t that a Grand Slam by Max?

Pole, Win, Fastest lap, Led every lap

Yep, his 5th now I believe. Only Jim Clarke (8) and Lewis Hamilton (6) have more

[organic]

Wasn’t that a Grand Slam by Max?

Pole, Win, Fastest lap, Led every lap

Also 8th win in a row. Closing in on the record again

[Cs98]

2023 repeat incoming. Maybe not as brutal, but i dont see anyone stealing WDC and WCC from RB.

Dumb question: Is Bahrain so illustrative a circuit?

It was last year.

Actually I don't think it was/is. Don't get me wrong, any time you win by 40s it's illustrative that you have the best car. But Bahrain exaggerated the real gap due to its extreme high deg nature and RB being incredible on tyres. 2023 was a 40s gap with a de-tuned engine and Max driving to a delta. This year the gap is probably half that.

[organic]

Dumb question: Is Bahrain so illustrative a circuit?

It was last year.

Actually I don't think it was/is. Don't get me wrong, any time you win by 40s it's illustrative that you have the best car. But Bahrain exaggerated the real gap due to its extreme high deg nature and RB being incredible on tyres. 2023 was a 40s gap with a de-tuned engine and Max driving to a delta. This year the gap is probably half that.

Lec DNFed in 2023 but would've finished around 20-25s back from Max

[Cs98]

It was last year.

Actually I don't think it was/is. Don't get me wrong, any time you win by 40s it's illustrative that you have the best car. But Bahrain exaggerated the real gap due to its extreme high deg nature and RB being incredible on tyres. 2023 was a 40s gap with a de-tuned engine and Max driving to a delta. This year the gap is probably half that.

Lec DNFed in 2023 but would've finished around 20-25s back from Max

He was 25s behind when he DNFd and there were 17 laps to go IIRC. So we're definitely talking 30-35 seconds behind Max that race. And that was with Leclerc driving relatively unimpeded for most of the race. Now imagine you had let Leclerc run unimpeded this race behind Max (without brake issues), we're probably talking half the gap we saw in 2023.

[Sieper]

And this year Lec had the better start but was fair in the duel (rightly and correctly so) and with the drs opening up on lap 2 already he could have maybe hung with Max for some time, but not with the brake problem he had.

But, today made clear, on a high deg track it is a Max win bar any bad luck.

[f1isgood]

Actually I don't think it was/is. Don't get me wrong, any time you win by 40s it's illustrative that you have the best car. But Bahrain exaggerated the real gap due to its extreme high deg nature and RB being incredible on tyres. 2023 was a 40s gap with a de-tuned engine and Max driving to a delta. This year the gap is probably half that.

Lec DNFed in 2023 but would've finished around 20-25s back from Max

He was 25s behind when he DNFd and there were 17 laps to go IIRC. So we're definitely talking 30-35 seconds behind Max that race. And that was with Leclerc driving relatively unimpeded for most of the race. Now imagine you had let Leclerc run unimpeded this race behind Max (without brake issues), we're probably talking half the gap we saw in 2023.

I mean Leclerc was also driving the SF23 which if we are being fair was barely run properly early in the season. I think Ferrari have made a step, RB have made a step but slightly smaller.

All in all, I think RB have a solid enough advantage that they can be happy with going forward. I think multiple teams will be fighting for wins here and there but getting better results than what the team achieved in 2023, is too high of an ask even for a team as good as RB.

Most important thing is to have a car to win the championships. I think the RB20 with regular bits and pieces is good enough to accomplish that goal.

[Paa]

I'll wait for Jeddah to see if the performance is similar in a different kind of track, but if so... do you think RB will consider postponing the R4 & R7 upgrade package?
Similarly how they postponed the Singapore update in 2022 and basically all end-of-season upgrades in 2023.