Horner, Verstappen, Perez — Photo: © LAT Images

Red Bull

Red Bull claim car is NOT dominant, but "AVERAGE good"

The technical director of Red Bull discusses how strong the RB19 really is

Tyler Foster

Thursday 17 August 2023 09:57

Red Bull's technical director Pierre Wache has said that their teams’ 2023 car, the RB19, is “average good” in all conditions but benefits from other teams’ struggles.

The RB19 is on track to potentially become the most dominant Formula 1 car in the series’ history. The combined efforts of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez has seen Red Bull win all 12 of the Grand Prix’s so far this season. It is currently the McLaren MP 4/4 from 1988 that holds the title as F1’s most ‘dominant’ car, having taken 15 victories from 16 events.

The nature of Red Bull’s success throughout 2023 has raised eyebrows as to whether the RB19 will go one better and taste victory at every race in the season. However, personnel from the Milton Keynes-based squad have been persistent that their car is not all-conquering as it seems.

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Speaking to Motorsport.com, technical director Wache explained the reasoning behind the car’s achievements at every track on the calendar thus far.

"It is average good for everything, which is creating a good car.

"It's not very good in one aspect. Why we think it is good because we are quicker than others, but fundamentally I would say we didn't do a fantastic job. We did a good job.”

Other teams make Red Bull look faster

Verstappen and Pérez are in pursuit of the perfect season with the RB19

While it is clear that the RB19 is more than capable of winning every race it enters, the extent of its dominance is reliant on the lack of competition at the front. No other team has matched Red Bull's consistency and pace. As a result, the rest of the field have spent most of their campaign battling it out for second best.

"I was more surprised by others, who didn't do as good a job I would say. That is why our expectations were different from the beginning of the year.

"I don't want to be modest or whatever, but when you see some teams are able in three races to gain one second per lap, it means if you put the stuff together, it will be decent. It doesn't require two years of development."