Key Red Bull F1 star delivers early verdict on RB20

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Key Red Bull F1 star delivers early verdict on RB20

The team are unveiling their new car later on Thursday

By Sam Cook.

Friday 16 February 2024 04:57

Helmut Marko has been cautiously optimistic about the development of Red Bull's new RB20, suggesting it's an improvement on last season's dominant RB19.

That RB19 was the most dominant single-season car in the sport's history, taking 21 out of 22 victories in the 2023 season - 19 of those won by drivers' champion Max Verstappen alone.

Red Bull released the follow-up to that car later on Thursday, in a live stream on their YouTube channel, amid what has been a difficult winter break for the team.

Horner himself has been accused of 'inappropriate behaviour' and, although he 'completely' denies the claims, is the subject of an internal investigation surrounding his conduct.

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Whatever the result of that investigation, it is expected to last quite some time, potentially into the start of the upcoming season.

Red Bull head into 2024 hoping to defend their world championships

Helmut Marko and Christian Horner have worked together at Red Bull since 2005

Christian Horner is currently the subject of an internal investigation at Red Bull

Marko: We had the best package

He believes that radical changes were not needed, like some of his challengers have implemented in an attempt to catch the Milton Keynes-based outfit.

"This [the performance] will be shown next week during the tests in Bahrain," the Austrian said in quotes reported by The Independent.

"What can already be said is that the new car is an evolution from the previous year’s car, and we had the best package.

“If we eliminate the few weak points, not much should actually go wrong. But who knows: Maybe a competitor has succeeded in a special trick in the development.”

Red Bull Max Verstappen Christian Horner Helmut Marko