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Red Bull has revealed that “all plans are in place” for the areas the team plans to modify on the RB21 to address the issues it has encountered Formula 1 in 2024.
Red Bull was on course to another championship double as Max Verstappen won four of the first five races in similarly dominant fashion to last year.
However, Red Bull following the wrong development path, coupled with McLaren’s resurgence, contributed to negating the team’s competitive advantage.
But while Verstappen’s brilliance has maintained his points gap and is on the brink of the title, Red Bull has dropped to third in the Constructors’ Championship.
The Dutchman, who rode ten races without winning until his comeback in Brazil, announced this Red Bull’s sharp decline had led it to abandon previously planned updates.
However, Red Bull chief engineer Paul Monaghan is confident the sudden change in direction has not changed the revisions the company wants to make to the RB20’s successor.
When asked whether Red Bull has a clear direction for 2025, Monaghan told the media, among other things Motorsport week: “I could turn to you and say yes, but I guarantee everyone will be nervous about the first test next year.
“So it’s not like we didn’t know, even halfway through the season, what we wanted to achieve with next year’s car.
“And next year’s car will be compounded by the difficulties of the 2026 car. So yes, we know what we want to do. At the moment all plans are ready.”
However, Monaghan has admitted that the extent of Red Bull’s progress this winter will be unclear until it sees what the competition has achieved.
“But then again, it almost doesn’t matter,” he continued. “It’s what we do in relation to our opposition.
“We know how much work we want to take on, what we want to try and achieve, and then we’ll see how much development work we have to put into it.
“We want to challenge for next year’s championships, so it will be quite a challenge for everyone within Red Bull Racing’s skill set to achieve all our goals. But we will try.”
Paul Monaghan has admitted that the shorter wind tunnel testing time has hit Red Bull this season
Red Bull does not use the test time limit as an excuse
Red Bull has admitted that the shorter wind tunnel and CFD testing time it received compared to the rest played a role in the team eventually overtaking it.
But Monaghan has stated that the reigning champions should avoid clinging to that as an excuse because extra time does not guarantee an improvement in performance.
“Well, we have a little less than (the others),” he emphasized. “Ferrari and McLaren are quite close to us.
“When I look at the difference between, for example, Haas or Williams, without being disrespectful about their performance halfway through this season, they get a lot more than us.
“It’s not necessarily about having exactly the time, it’s about having the time and getting something out of it, which is part of the skill.
“So I can moan all I want; it won’t change the wind tunnel time and the CFD number we get. That’s it.”
Red Bull would prioritize the title over additional testing time
Monaghan has also indicated that he would choose to keep the Constructors’ Championship again this campaign during the extra aero test time to finish third.
“Personally, my pride would be hurt more than anything, I guess,” he noted.
“Yes, we will get a slight increase, but I would rather keep the constructors’ championship than look at the time. That’s up to us.”
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