Red Bull 'tricks' which have RB19 setting F1 pace

Red Bull

Red Bull 'tricks' which have RB19 setting the pace

The Red Bull has been the fastest car so far during 2023 testing in Bahrain and it's not all down to Max!

Stuart Hodge

Friday 24 February 2023 07:58 Updated: 12:45

Max Verstappen dominated on Day 1 of F1 pre-season testing in Bahrain, finishing as the fastest driver in both the morning and afternoon session.

The Dutchman, bidding for a third consecutive world title, also clocked over 100 laps as the Red Bull set the standard for the rest of the field.

The RB19 was shrouded in secrecy throughout launch season, as a livery launch in New York was followed by a shakedown at Silverstone behind closed doors.

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Once it took to the track on Thursday though, everybody was left in no doubt about the package that Red Bull will open the season with.

Whilst Ferrari suffered nose-popping and porpoising issues and Mercedes just seemed happy not to suffer any porpoising after the nightmare of 2022, Verstappen left all of his rivals trailing in the Sakhir dust.

Although it's obviously far too early to read too much into it, the early signs are that Red Bull might have another winning car in their hands.

But what is the magic behind another top challenger?

Well, former F1 driver Giedo van der Garde - now a pundit on Dutch television - watched the RB19 up close during Thursday's test session and the former Caterham and Sauber driver believes Red Bull have delivered another special car.

Clever weight-saving

Every team is fighting to stay under the weight limit and some have cut entire pieces of their livery in order to save vital kilograms in weight.

It's not easy to spot on the RB19, but through the middle of the car and under the sidepods, the Milton Keynes marque removed the decals.

"Red Bull has also been working on getting the weight of the car down," explained Van Der Garde on Dutch TV channel Viaplay.

"And what you see is a whole piece of carbon all the way to the sidepods. That part has not been sprayed or pasted. This saves you half-a-kilo to a whole kilo in weight."

Red Bull aerodynamic magic

Van Der Garde continued: "We know that at Red Bull it's all about the flow among the sidepods and they've made that very narrow there to use the floor and the flow as much as possible."

There are still a few questions for the pundit though. According to the 37-year-old, Red Bull have two "tricks" on the floor and Van Der Garde does not yet know exactly what they are for.

"They have a number of nice tricks on the floor and I have never seen anything like this before", says Van Der Garde, pointing to two flaps on the floor of the car. "But to be honest, I think this is unique and genius to see and you can immediately see that they are doing well again."