The desert is ruthless with everything and everyone, and even when it comes to engines it doesn't give discounts. The verdict of Bahrain e Jeddah leave little doubt: that of 2023 will probably be a triumphal ride for Red Bull. For years, in Formula One, the drivers no longer drive a single-seater, but a set of tyres, a necessary but not sufficient condition to bring home any success. Apparently, having understood better than the others how to interpret the new regulatory era to make them work, there is only one team. For those who pursue, it is ever more bitterly clear what the way forward should be.
Red Bull docet, but the others?
Not many months have passed since there were those who announced a three-way battle for the current year. However, the true and ruthless verdict of the track returned a very different outcome from the expected one. The RB19 is a perfect machine, whose success is, without taking anything away from Newey's men, enhanced by the poor work of rival teams. In winter, the two most threatening teams for the winged bull produced very little. Between missing correlations and administrative chaos, Red Bull can continue its ride calmly, aware of the fact that if there is a rapprochement, it will take time before it becomes really insidious.
A matter of being “up to it”
Just before technical directive imposed by Wolff the picture was different: Red Bull in front, Ferrari very close, Mercedes bipolar but never on top. Soon after, the hierarchy changed, but not at the top: Red Bull remained at the top, and the two pursuers found themselves crippled. In Jeddah Ferrari lapped slower than the F1-75, in short, a regression that leads the SF-23 to be comparable to the red forklift of the 2022 tests, directives aside. Mercedes varied, like indeed Ferrari, his own idea of a single-seater. The hollow bellies e le tapered bellies, However, they don't seem to be the best solution, and to testify it is also a surprising fourth wheel.
Mass migration to the Red Bull concept?
Mercedes and Ferrari have effectively said goodbye to the world championship with 21 races to go. Toto Wolff has already announced an imminent revolution of the aerodynamic concept. Ferrari will probably look like Red Bull in 2024 – as announced by Motorsport.com – if the hollow-bellied concept is branded as unworkable. In all of this, the picture is clear. If last year the teams alternated solutions inspired by Ferrari and Red Bull wondering which was the best philosophy, today there are no more doubts. In the future, that of Milton Keynes will probably be the concept on which to focus, barring surprises and with due variations.
Not only Red Bull enjoys this situation, but also the fourth wheel mentioned above: Aston Martin. The green technicians they did a terrific job, demonstrating that starting from the concept of the RB18 and customizing it, we can go the right way. The next races will better tell us when to expect drastic changes, hoping that everything doesn't play in Red Bull's favor, for the sake of the show of the months to come, and who knows, maybe of the years.
