Red Bull showcased their highly anticipated 2024 challenger on Thursday, aiming for a stellar season reminiscent of their dominant 2023 performance.
Despite the team's previous triumphs, an F1 pundit alleges that a specific element of the new car is indeed artificial.
In 2023, the Milton Keynes-based team had an extraordinary year, securing victory in 21 out of 22 races, with Max Verstappen clinching 19 wins and securing his third consecutive world title, contributing to the team's sixth constructors' championship.
But that did not stop the hype for the RB20, as fans and pundits alike were excited to see the new car that the team will be hoping will be an improvement on its predecessor – but the new design certainly raised eyebrows.
Many teams have taken inspiration from the design of the RB19, but Red Bull unveiled a car that has some striking differences, including a move to a ‘zeropod’ design with the sidepods reminiscent of the Mercedes W13 and W14 that were tried and scrapped by the team.
And F1 journalist Alex Kalinauckas noticed that the car’s floor displayed in the launch looked almost certainly fake.
Speaking on the Autosport Podcast, Kalinauckas discussed what many other journalists were thinking when the car was revealed: “The car that everybody’s seen today is the launch spec car, it’s what the team start the season with,” he said.
“It’s very much not got its real floor on it. I think the chatter amongst everybody gathered here was that very much a fake floor, it looked like it was absolutely solid.
“I just can’t imagine they would waste the carbon fibre on it, but yeah don’t expect the team to be starting the season with that.”