Saudi Arabian Grand Prix To Determine Red Bull's Real Advantage Over Rivals

Wednesday, 06 March 2024 at 00:00

Max Verstappen is turning his RB20 into one of the corners at Bahrain International Circuit

Helmut Marko discussed whether RB20 can replicate the success of RB19, which won 21 out of 22 races in the 2023 season.

Though Red Bull didn't try to make a revolutionary step forward in development in 2023, their car turned out to be the fastest one by quite a margin and allowed their drivers to dominate the whole season completely.

Going into 2024, it was clear other teams would have to do something bold to catch up with Red Bull. On the other hand, it was expected the team from Milton Keynes would try to replicate what they did last year.

However, instead of focusing on the less risky evolution of their car, Red Bull significantly changed their concept. The Austrian team wanted to retain the excellent pace advantage they enjoyed last year and decided this would be the right move.

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Watch: Teaser For Newly Proposed Circuit That Could Host Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

The 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix was supposed to be the first real test for the Red Bull machines, and it seems it could not have gone better, according to Max Verstappen.

Verstappen, with his teammate Sergio Perez, finished in first and second place and even took the fastest lap of the race, meaning the Austrian team took the maximum points from Bahrain. Concerning whether RB20 could be the next dominant car, Helmut Marko said, as reported by Motorsport-Total:

"That would be nice, but we saw that we didn't make it last year. We are still a long way from that, and our main goal remains to win both championships. We'll do it step by step."

"Jeddah is a completely different circuit with very fast corners. If we are just as dominant there as we are [in Bahrain], then we can look optimistically into the future."

With many fast and sweeping turns, the Jeddah Corniche Circuit is entirely different from the track in Bahrain. Tire degradation and car behavior will be different at this track. Will we see another one-two from Red Bull, or can some other team surprise?