"There must be something better" - Red Bull wary of rivals developing more than them

After winning the drivers and constructors' championships in 2022, Red Bull is cautious of their development for the upcoming season. Adrian Newey, the chief technical officer, believes that at least one rival outfit will find a place to develop better than the Milton Keynes-based team.

Due to major changes in regulations in the 2022 season, all the teams have found weaknesses and strengths in developing their cars. Newey believes that no matter how much they develop, there 'must be something better' that his team needs to be cautious about. He told Auto Motor Und Sport (AMuS):

"We will continue to develop our concept because we know it best. But I don't dare say whether our way is the best way. It's quite possible that someone else will turn the corner with a better idea. It means that none of us is absolutely right and there must be something better."

He also stated that a car's wings and sidepods cannot be isolated and worked on separately. He referred to Ferrari to explain himself better, saying:

"You can never isolate things like wings or the sidepods. Everything only works as a package. A Ferrari side box will not fit our underbody and vice versa. There's always an interaction between these elements."

Red Bull proved to be unbeatable in the 2022 season with the RB18. The car turned out to be one of the masterpieces by Newey, who is known for building some of the most successful cars in F1 throughout his career. The car was a little off the pace from Ferrari during the initial stages of the season, but soon, however, they were fast enough to win races by a large margin.

Max Verstappen's opening lap in Monza showed how brutally fast the car was, ultimately culminating in his drivers' championship win in Japan. Following up in the United States, the team won their first constructors' championship in almost a decade.

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Red Bull assured of their concepts of development

Adrian Newey believes that Red Bull's concept is what they know best and will continue to develop the same. He is, however, aware that it might not be the best concept to develop from, claiming there is a chance that other teams might start developing better.

Newey felt that there was a possibility of a different team coming up with a better idea of development, which could potentially put Red Bull at a disadvantage. He said:

"We all don't know yet where we'll end up bumping up against as we develop our own concepts. Maybe another one has much greater development potential that's still trailing today. Think about the double diffuser. That loophole in the transition from the floor to the step was always there. It just hadn't been discovered by anyone."

Red Bull, Ferrari, and Mercedes all had different aerodynamic concepts in the 2022 season with surprising takes on the sidepods. Mercedes' 'zeropod' idea did not turn out well, which was apparent from the troubles the team faced. It seemed like Red Bull's concept was the most profitable one seeing the massive dominance they had throughout the season.