2023 Oracle Red Bull Racing F1 Team

[mendis]

With a race now having been cancelled, does each driver still continues to get 4 engines this year?

[AR3-GP]

With a race now having been cancelled, does each driver still continues to get 4 engines this year?

Most likely, but Verstappen is still on his 1st set of everything except for the exhaust (2nd).

[chrisc90]

We Don’t even know how stressed the RBPT PU is being run. Could it be driven harder? How much extra comes from the ERS system and the deployment?

I think to discuss the PU and it’s ‘dominance’ you need to go back to 2021-ish and see how it was performing that season and the switch over to higher ethanol in 2022. Then Honda brought a much better ERS system mid season last year.

The PU itself is probably on par with the others, the ERS system has better recovery and deployment that anyone else, and the car just works very well on the track. The little things that add up. Together with the fact the RB has a better operating window than the others so gives better scope to set the car up for tyre deg. Look what happens when they get it wrong - the car is literally nowhere - Austria 2022. Bad setup the car chewed through the tyres like the Cookie Monster.
One lap pace is on par - if not slightly behind the others. We regularly see Ferrari being a challenger for pole -
So one lap pace isn’t outright better.

[mendis]

I know RB and Max fans want to play down their chances and domination but we’re witnessing the most dominant season ever! So don’t be surprised if we see 22 wins out of 22 races! And that’s to be expected after seeing their underbody…

P.S. Not even bad luck can lose them a race this year…

I certainly don't think the car and driver combo isn't dominant. The car certainly isn't a one trick pony either. It's a pity Imola got away. It could have been 23!

[AR3-GP]

RB would be floored if they could produce the most dominant season ever but it's going to take a little bit of luck with respect to things which are out of their control like debris and inopportune tire punctures, poorly timed SCs, and so on.

[organic]

RB would be floored if they could produce the most dominant season ever.

The main obstacle now is Singapore I should imagine.. can't think of another track that doesn't suit the RB well. One of the sprint weekends could throw a spanner in the works if they mess up the setup.

[chrisc90]

Amazing Max isn’t on the same level at qualifying of Lewis or Charles. That’s after you put Norris and Russell (somehow?) in front of him too.


You only have to look at the 2021 season to see that Max is on par, if not marginally better at quali than Lewis. When you look at 9 poles for Max Vs Lewis’ 4 poles in a better car. But that’s a different topic and history.

The start of this era is no different to the start of the turbo hybrid era. YesRB have a very strong car, and one of the best drivers on the grid today but we will see what comes in December when the season ends. Nothing wrong with re-writing the history books. Build a good car and have the drivers to drive it and you should have every right to enjoy the success. Otherwise it’ll just be a spec series

[AMG.Tzan]

Amazing Max isn’t on the same level at qualifying of Lewis or Charles. That’s after you put Norris and Russell (somehow?) in front of him too.


You only have to look at the 2021 season to see that Max is on par, if not marginally better at quali than Lewis. When you look at 9 poles for Max Vs Lewis’ 4 poles in a better car. But that’s a different topic and history.

The start of this era is no different to the start of the turbo hybrid era. YesRB have a very strong car, and one of the best drivers on the grid today but we will see what comes in December when the season ends. Nothing wrong with re-writing the history books. Build a good car and have the drivers to drive it and you should have every right to enjoy the success. Otherwise it’ll just be a spec series

Can’t quote my reply or something?

With the cars Max has had the last 3 seasons he should have had way more pole positions than Leclerc! The reason Lewis ended up with fewer pole positions in 2021 was firstly RB being a faster car and Lewis always choosing race setup instead of going for ultimate lap time!

And I’m not taking anything away from him or the team! He’s performing at his best every single time and his team has created an absolute beast of a car! Nobody said that it’s Red Bull that should slow down instead of the others catching up! But don’t tell me your team isn’t dominant and is getting challenged even in qualifying!

Now your comment “have the drivers to drive it” doesn’t even need commenting…and you know why! Look at your No2 yesterday

[chrisc90]

There are countless instances you can count a number 2 driver failing behind the number 1 driver. Same way with all the other teams on the grid. Pointless comparison to make. Not even worthy of discussion in this, or any team thread.

I mean if you don’t believe the no2 driver isn’t carrying their weight…. Just look at the WDC standings and re-evaluate.

Monaco qualifying where the RB was challenged by the Ferrari, alpine, Aston Martin. Only one that didn’t really have a threat was the Mercedes.

[DDopey]

The reason Lewis ended up with fewer pole positions in 2021 was firstly RB being a faster car and Lewis always choosing race setup instead of going for ultimate lap time!

It is well known that Max in 2022 and 2023 goes for a race setup rather than a qually setup. So why should your reasoning not apply to Max as well ? ( let’s not debate the faster 2021 car discussion again ).

I think Max is an extremely fast qualifier, if not one of the fastest and has proofed that a lot of times. But the RB has some tyre warming characteristics that not favor the qually stage, so it makes sense that he is not a pole collector.

[mendis]

The reason Lewis ended up with fewer pole positions in 2021 was firstly RB being a faster car and Lewis always choosing race setup instead of going for ultimate lap time!

It is well known that Max in 2022 and 2023 goes for a race setup rather than a qually setup. So why should your reasoning not apply to Max as well ? ( let’s not debate the faster 2021 car discussion again ).

I think Max is an extremely fast qualifier, if not one of the fastest and has proofed that a lot of times. But the RB has some tyre warming characteristics that not favor the qually stage, so it makes sense that he is not a pole collector.

RB cars of 2019, 20, 21 and early 2022 had a lot of instability in balance. They even had to induce a lot of understeer to counter that, which made the likes of Albon and Perez look like idiots. If the car isn't well balanced, you should forget the one lap pace. 2022 was more unique where Ferrari was the faster car over one lap and TD039 curtailed a lot of it while RB18 evolved well for the second half. Some of those problems weren't such an issue on a race load fuel, which is the reason why race results were better than quali. This year again, there isn't a big gap in quali, but RB19 is in it's own league in races. So Max might not have lofty qualifying statistics, despite being one of the intuitively faster drivers of all time over one lap. The fact that he knows he has a great race car with which he can win from any position, also psychologically reduces the risk taking ability in qualifying. Two days back in Monaco when the pole position mattered the most, he pulled one out of the hat.

[Sieper]

Mercedes AMG guy telling everyone in the RBR team thread that in fact his driver is bestest. Lewis Hamilton. Who apparently joined the RBR team when we weren’t paying attention.

[AR3-GP]

RB would be floored if they could produce the most dominant season ever.

The main obstacle now is Singapore I should imagine.. can't think of another track that doesn't suit the RB well. One of the sprint weekends could throw a spanner in the works if they mess up the setup.

I think Singapore would suit them even more than Monaco and overtaking in Singapore is relatively easier than in Monaco.

Sprints at Spa and Austria. I think the car would be so good in Spa that even a bad setup won't stop them. With respect to Austria? Ferrari is nowhere near as good as last year. RB don't have to be that good there.

RB actually had a bad setup in Baku, but it's overlooked because the pace advantage was so big.

[Farnborough]

Anyone notice what MV said in post race interview to camera ( DC & MW feed) about pulling the clutch going round hairpin and down into Portier section ? Effectively coasting it round there.

Saying it kept slipping off the curb but you had to ride it to get that inside line, presumably the 1st gear ratio in combination with baseline rpm minimum was just pushing the fronts (slicks in the wet) too much to turn it, and influenced by diff locking % at a guess. Affirmation from DC & MW as I understood the conversation.

Cut to LS in the AM and he doesn't seem to know that "inside knowledge" while going down there like a bowling ball.

[SiLo]

Mercedes AMG guy telling everyone in the RBR team thread that in fact his driver is bestest. Lewis Hamilton. Who apparently joined the RBR team when we weren’t paying attention.

Can't go a few pages in any thread without some Ham vs Max rubbish. It's so toxic and helps nobody.