Despite popular belief, Red Bull director dismisses claims of a superior DRS - “Our strength is purely aerodynamic”

Red Bull's RB19 boasts a DRS advantage which is envied by all the F1 teams in the paddock. Contrary to the well-established fact, Pierre Wache, technical director of the Milton Keynes team stated that the "magic" doesn't lie in the movable rear wing.

While the RB19 blasts past other cars on long straights, Wache believes the effectiveness of the DRS is due to the aerodynamic efficiency of the car. Coming from the makers of the car it becomes clear that there is no clever trickery in RB19's rear wing.

Speaking to French media outlet L'Equipe, Pierre Wache cleared the air behind Red Bull's DRS advantage.

“There is no magic in our DRS,” Wache said. “It doesn't even open more than the other teams. Its effectiveness can simply be traced back to the concept of our car. When our wing is closed, we don't have too much drag, and when the driver opens it, he gets a lot more speed. Our strength is purely aerodynamic”.

"On the RB19 a bigger DRS would not make sense because it would increase aerodynamic resistance. Optimization must be done through the underbody, which must not resist open DRS,” he added.

RB19 in the Belgian GP

Red Bull's speed advantage on the straights doesn't stem from the DRS alone but from the interaction of the airflow between aerodynamic parts in the rear side. The beam wing and the air exiting the underfloor also play a crucial role to make the car quicker on straights.

This is where the RB19 is significantly better than its rivals, who have struggled with aerodynamic efficiency. Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton was baffled by the pace deficit to their rivals on the straights in Jeddah, claiming that he had "never seen such a fast car".

As Red Bull continues to blow away its competitors, it will be impossible to see another car overtake the RB19 on the straights this season.

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Red Bull boss hails Max Verstappen's race engineer after recent drama

Christian Horner spoke about Max Verstappen's race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase after recent drama in the Belgian GP, where Verstappen and GP had feisty exchanges over the radio. Horner hailed the latter's strength of character to handle the two-time world champion.

"I think to race engineer Max Verstappen you've got to have strength of character, because he is one tough customer," the Red Bull boss said (via Autosport) "Many race engineers would crumble under that pressure and GP has got the strength of character to deal with that."

Horner compared Lambiase to Hollywood actor Jason Statham, adding that he wasn't to be messed around.

"The only problem is that conversation between the two of them, 200 million people are listening to. But there's a great bond and a great trust between the two. There's no counseling required," Horner added.

GP has been with Max Verstappen since the latter's debut for Red Bull and has played a crucial role to help the Dutchman secure 45 wins and two championships.