Adrian Newey admits Red Bull F1 advantage gain from big rule change

Adrian Newey, RB19 — Photo: © LAT Images

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Newey admits Red Bull F1 advantage gain from big rule change

Red Bull had initially been against the rule change proposed

Dan Ripley Global Editor

Professional F1 journalist and analyst

Thursday 11 January 2024 12:57

Adrian Newey has admitted that a Formula 1 rule change that looked like it would work against Red Bull turned out to only boost their stranglehold on the sport.

Red Bull dominated the 2023 season, winning 19 out of the 22 races as Max Verstappen and the team strolled towards respective world championships.

The RB19 will go down as one of the most dominant cars in the history of F1, many already having been designed by Red Bull tech guru Newey, who was also behind Red Bull's rise to the top from 2010 to 2013.

Adrian Newey has revealed a 2023 rule change worked in Red Bull's favour

The rule change only helped strengthen Red Bull's hold on Formula 1 during 2023

Rule change helped Red Bull

But a rule change for 2023 that had initially looked like it would clip the wings of Red Bull to the point of the team considering a protest only succeeded in giving them a surprise boost.

Newey admitted that though had a different perspective, insisting that by his estimations changes to rules regarding the floor of the car may help them bridge a 2022 disadvantage to rivals Ferrari in high speed corners.

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“The interesting thing about that was when the change was announced last year we were discussing it internally. Some of our guys were saying, ‘no, we’ve got to really fight this’,” Newey told The-Race recently.

“But I took the view that actually in the high-speed corners last year we were probably behind Ferrari.

"Our car was getting itself into problems in the very high speed so actually that reg change might suit us so we didn’t really push against it too much.

"It turned out it seems it has suited us.”

Red Bull Max Verstappen Formula 1 Adrian Newey Sebastian Vettel RB19