RB F1 started 2024 very strongly. They scored 29 points in the opening 9 rounds and looked to have a comfortable advantage in the Constructors’ Championship over Alpine, Haas, Williams and Sauber.
The introduction of an updated floor, rear wing, and engine cover in the Spanish Grand Prix was highly anticipated as the team was hoping to solidify their advantage, even with the possibility of challenging Aston Martin.
However, its first outing was very disappointing with Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo finishing the race respectively 19th and 15th. The Faenza-based squad returned to the top 10 at the Red Bull Ring and Silverstone by utilising a combination of new and old components for evaluation, although they were not a match for Haas, who seem to have a better understanding of their upgrades.
The American-owned team took 16 points out of RB in the last two events, reducing the gap to 4 in the Constructors’ Championship.
Speaking to Planet F1, RB CEO Peter Bayer explained that there was a correlation issue as the numbers expected did not match up with reality on track. It also took away their big strength: a fast car in low speed corners.
The team was also under immense pressure due to the closeness of the field and the quick turnaround required to get the updates completed with a triple-header looming. A production issue with the rear wing did not help them at the Spanish Grand Prix.
“I think it was a couple of things.
“First of all, because it’s so tight, we’re obviously pushing as hard as we can to keep the edge.
“Now, to push as hard as you can, what does that mean? Well, it means that, in the design process, you’re pushing the guys to go to the limit and, in the factory, you go to the limit, meaning we run three shifts at the moment producing the parts. Three shifts mean 24 [hours].
“The pressure is as high off-track as it is on track. In that process, there were a couple of things as far as I understand.
“There was a slight correlation issue with one of the aerodynamic parts. Because, ultimately, we’ve been very strong in slow corners, we’re not very good in terms of drag and efficiency so we tried to give up a bit of slow corner strength for high speed.
“And we did that. But, as we found out, we gave up a bit too much of slow speed. So, once we understood that, we could go back.
“Then in terms of production, we had an issue with the rear wing, with a piece that was filled with aluminium. It turned out that aluminium was not strong enough to stand the load on the rear wing. It didn’t break, but it started to flop because it was not strong enough, ultimately.
“There was a small bit missing also on the wing, and, obviously, that could be fixed within a week and we had the new wing on the car [in Austria], where now the pieces are made of titanium and not of alloy, and it works.”
Bayer insisted that it had been crucial for them to maintain composure within the team despite this setback with the upgrades, ensuring a no blame culture is followed.
He also cited a team member who praised the top management for their reaction to the problems.
“I think that the worst thing to do in that moment is to panic and to try and blame or be too proud and say ‘Oh, no, no, this will work’.
“It doesn’t work. Honestly, I have to say, the whole team was great.
“I’m quoting someone from our team, a new team member who said to me after the debrief, ‘Peter, this was quite amazing. I’ve never seen a team reacting so calmly, and so decisively in terms of saying, Okay, guys, issue 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 – you take care of that, and we’ll meet again in two hours, and we’ll get this. If we don’t get it today, we’ll get it next week’.
“This guy has been in more than one Formula 1 team.
“Honestly, it was a superb job by the team. There’s a simpler way of doing this, all of us have to be performance-obsessed, meaning that, if we see that something’s not working, let’s try and fix it proactively.
“Let’s not wait until your neighbour is picking up the ball – you go yourself, you do it, you pick it up, you fix it with the help of the people who know how to do it.
“No blame, don’t finger-point. And on top of not blaming, we need to know the truth. So no bullshit!”
