Coulthard Teases Numerous Upgrades Red Bull Plans To Implement Into RB20

Tuesday, 20 February 2024 at 14:30

Former F1 driver David Coulthard, who was present at Red Bull's RB20 launch, suggested there are still multiple upgrades to be put on the car before the season's first race.

David Coulthard was present at both Red Bull Racing's official launch of the RB20 and the shakedown at Silverstone that preceded the launch by two days.

The former F1 driver drove Red Bull's first-ever F1 car, RB1, alongside Max Verstappen in RB20 as part of the promotional video shown at the launch event.

Being present at the shakedown, Coulthard also had a bit more insight into how the team felt about their new car. He told Formula 1:

"I think the technical team were happy with the numbers they were getting in terms of… the things you can get out of that, the cooling and load sensors."

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On the other hand, the British driver emphasized that what matters the most is the car's actual performance. To see that, we must wait ten more days until the first of March, when qualification for the first Grand Prix of the 2024 season takes place.

"Even if you went out and thought the car was amazing in a shakedown, the only thing that matters is Saturday qualifying and, ultimately, Sunday race [at the first round] in Bahrain."

However, what is most interesting (and half expected, as a matter of fact) is that Red Bull didn't reveal all their cards with the car that was shown at the official launch.

Rumors suggested Red Bull had a launch spec car, which would be changed for the first testing day in Bahrain, and the 52-year-old suggested Red Bull already has multiple upgrades prepared to be implemented later on. He said:

"It’s a launch iteration… there will be upgrades coming to the test up until the last day, and there might even be an upgrade that comes for the Friday of the Bahrain race, and all of these upgrades are expected to change performance, balance, and lap time,"