Red Bull stress they are 'not baiting' with Mercedes-like design

Red Bull is emphatic that their 2024 car, the RB20, isn't a deliberate attempt to bait rivals Mercedes, despite sharing similarities with the German manufacturer's previous designs.

The recent unveiling of the RB20 showcased surprising features, including concepts reminiscent of Mercedes' full-length engine gulleys and radically different sidepods.

These innovations draw parallels with the 'zeropod' design employed by Mercedes' W13 and W14, which was abandoned after the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix.

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Red Bull not baiting Mercedes with RB20 design

The decision to move to a design that had been tried – and failed – by their rivals has raised a few eyebrows, but team principal Christian Horner has insisted that the design was not about baiting their competitors, but about finding more performance.

"It's not tactical, it's based on performance and what we're seeing through our simulation tools," he told the media at the RB20 launch.

"Obviously the car looks quite visibly different in certain areas to last year. Only the stopwatch will tell, but in a virtual world we wouldn't have committed to this design if we didn't feel it was better."

Defending champion Max Verstappen also did not agree that the team had gone with a Mercedes-style solution, but instead praised the technical team for their aggressive changes from the RB19.

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"I would still call it a Red Bull style. But I know what you mean!” said the Dutchman.

"I'm quite happy with the direction that they chose. I saw the drawings I think in Abu Dhabi, the last race, and I was like, 'wow, that's quite different in a way'. They've not been conservative, let's say it like that.

"I think what I like about the team is that we had a great package, but they took the chance to really go all out, I would say, and try to make it better.

"Of course, time will tell if it's really, really good. But from what I see within the team everyone is just happy with what they have achieved in the winter. But then again, we don't know. We can't control what other people did."

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