F1 News: TV pundit Naomi Schiff insists Red Bull took major 'RISK' during offseason

Christian Horner and Max Verstappen — Photo: © IMAGO

Bahrain Grand Prix

Schiff insists Red Bull took major 'RISK' during offseason

The team have been in the news a lot of late

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Saturday 2 March 2024 14:27

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Sky Sports F1 pundit Naomi Schiff has said that Red Bull's style going into the new season has been 'aggressive'.

The world champions produced what has been described by Christian Horner as the 'most successful car in F1 history' in 2023, with the RB19 claiming both world titles and 21 of 22 possible race victories.

Instead of resting on their laurels and getting complacent having seen how much they dominated the competition last season, Red Bull opted to change elements of their car for 2024, with the RB20 being described as an 'evolution' by chief technical officer Adrian Newey.

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This approach has been praised by Max Verstappen, who is hoping to claim his fourth successive world championship title in 2024.

Max Verstappen claimed pole in the first qualifying of the year in Bahrain

Red Bull's RB20 featured a few surprises when it was launched

Red Bull's aggressive approach

Now Schiff, who is a former W Series racer, said that Verstappen's pole position at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix is proof that the gamble has paid off.

The Dutchman beat his nearest challenger Charles Leclerc by more than two tenths of a second.

"We saw their car coming into the season and thought 'that's an aggressive car, why have they done that when you have a dominant car?' It was a risk but now we can say it's paid off," Schiff told Sky Sports after qualifying.

"The gap is small though, so did they go backwards or did the other go forwards?

"It's hard to tell at this point but he's done a great job."