"Imitation is the greatest form of flattery, but ultimately I think that's how things work in Formula 1. I am without a doubt sure that next year we will have several cars that will resemble our RB19”. The team principal admitted it exclusively to PlanetF1 Red Bull Christian Horner who, after a year of absolute domination, returns to talk in view of 2024, admitting that more teams will try to copy the RB19. The car, as well as for now the latest jewel of Newey, it was the mother who allowed Verstappen to be able to dominate the 2023 world championship, concluded with well 19 victories.
Horner has no doubts: “The RB19 will be copied by our opponents”
Impressive numbers, both for Verstappen, but also for the team. Horner, in fact, is sure: the RB19 will be copied by its opponents. The team principal of the Austrian team, however, did not specify which teams will particularly put the car under observation, as - during 2023 - not even he was able to identify the real rival team of Red Bull. “We know how it works: just think – continued Horner – cwhich in 2023 we had different rivals fighting with us and especially at various times ".
“2023 extraordinary. We have raised the bar"
There is no shortage of uncertainties, but Horner is convinced that in 2024 we will not see dominance like last year: "The only constant, in reality, it was just our performance, although I am convinced that this year the dynamics will change and quite a bit. Without a doubt there will be a convergence, but the level with which the team has worked is also astonishing: always precise and constant, on every track and in every condition, in order to obtain 21 successes, including 6 doubles”. Maybe it won't be domination, but it is inevitable to think that Red Bull will start, again this year, with the underdogs: "We have undoubtedly raised the bar. We have reached peaks that we have never achieved before. All of this, obviously, must be taken into account: we are talking about important growth in terms of strategy, development, aerodynamics, mechanics, as well as the importance of the drivers” concluded Horner.
