"We’ve licked our wounds, learned our lessons": Red Bull chief's emphatic statement after a positive start to the F1 Azerbaijan GP

Red Bull Racing Chief Engineer Paul Monaghan believes that the changes made to the RB20 will yield positive results in Azerbaijan. Speaking to Formula Uno ahead of the Friday free practice sessions, the Briton expressed disappointment with the team's performance in Monza, stating that it was a setback that they aim to rectify in Baku.

Red Bull brought a reworked floor and revised wing to the Azerbaijan GP weekend. In FP1, Max Verstappen was the fastest, and Sergio Perez followed in third place. In FP2, the Mexican was second fastest, while the Dutchman was placed sixth fastest on the time sheet.

Monaghan feels that Red Bull have had their fair share of lessons in the Zandvoort and Monza race weekends. He believes that the proof of the changes will be visible on race day.

Following the Zandvoort and Monza race weekends, Paul Monaghan emphasized that the team's focus shifted towards identifying and addressing the underlying issues affecting the RB20. He highlighted the importance of developing a car that inspires confidence in Verstappen.

Monaghan also reflected on the shifting dynamics within the championship, noting how Red Bull's narrative transformed from a dominant force to a team questioning its competitiveness in defending both titles

Speaking about how Red Bull has been addressing their issues after Monza, Monaghan said:

“There are many ways to address the car’s behaviour from Monza, and it touches all the aspects of the car, not just whether we revise a floor geometry or a wing geometry. So it would be naive of us to think that we can just leave it. So we’ve licked our wounds, learned our lessons. The proof in the pudding will be, obviously Sunday, but we’ve tried to bring changes to the car, and make it better. And we don’t want to watch Monza again. It wasn’t the most pleasant event for us, so we’d like to improve relative for our position.”

Reflecting upon the last two race weekends and the performance of the Red Bull RB20, he added:

“We’ve got to look at why has the car been better prior to Zandvoort and Monza? Was it us? Was it our opposition? Is it combination of the two? I think we have to look upon ourselves, because we can’t influence what our opposition does, and try to make our car better, and that’s what we’re trying to do. It’s all about putting together the package that Max can drive, feels confident in. Look at the first few races of the season, ‘Oh, you’re not going to get caught.’ And here we are in a bit of a fight. So between Max and Checo and the whole team, not just what you see here, the question is can we put together a car that can defend the titles?”

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Red Bull chief engineer reckons Sunday will be litmus test to the updates on the RB20

Paul Monaghan believes that the Azerbaijan GP race day will be the ultimate test of the progress made with the RB20. While the changes to the car might seem subtle, he is optimistic that they will produce positive results.

Looking ahead to the Singapore Grand Prix, Monaghan mentioned that additional updates are planned for the RB20. He recalled that in 2023, both cars struggled to finish in the top 5 due to the car’s unsuitability for the street circuit. Monaghan admitted that the gap between Austin and Singapore provides an opportunity for further development.

Here's what Monaghan said with regard to the updates on the Red Bull RB20 and the progress made:

“The lessons are kind of ongoing, and the immediate reaction tends to be at the later races. So it’s a testament to everybody that we got it here. A lot of hard work, and that hard work will continue. Singapore’s only a week away. So it that will be potentially another evolution for us. The scale of the update kind of determines the phase lag in there. So if we’ve managed to do it for this race, it’s not the biggest one we’ll ever undertake in terms of geometry change. It’s subtle. Could the effect be good? Yes. And I think the proof in the pudding will be on Sunday afternoon.”

Here's what he had to say about the sprint race in Austin, which is scheduled for October 21.

“It gives us the freedom to potentially do more. The disciplined approach is to say is it valuable enough to spend the money to do it, to take it to Austin? And don’t forget, Austin’s a sprint race, so you’re going to roll the dice in P1 and then, okay, yes, no, indifferent? Keep it, not keep it? But that then leaves us potentially with few of any one piece. So your choices for Austin are team dependent, and somewhat confidence dependent."

After the Singapore GP, the three-week gap until the Austin race will provide an opportunity for further changes to the car. Monaghan also acknowledged that the upcoming sprint format races will limit the team's ability to thoroughly test new updates due to the reduced practice time.

The upcoming eight race weekends are set to be a head-to-head battle between Red Bull and its rivals. As of now, Red Bull holds a narrow eight-point lead over McLaren and a 39-point advantage over Ferrari in the Constructors' Championship.