Did Spa simply play to the Red Bull’s strengths or is there more to it than that? According to team boss Horner, the technical directive may have even helped
Red Bull believes the compromise in car height that all teams were forced to make because of the Eau Rouge was the reason for Max Verstappen’s dominance at the Belgian Grand Prix
The world champion was in a class of his own at Spa-Francorchamps as he first secured pole position clear and then dominated the race from 14th on the grid. The scale of Red Bull’s lead in Belgium left rivals shaking their heads, as for much of 2022 the team was pretty much on a par with Ferrari in terms of pace.
But while theories that Red Bull benefited from the introduction of a lightweight chassis have been ruled out, the Milton Keynes team pointed to one element that seems to have played particularly into their hands.
Why Red Bull were so much faster
Since the teams have to drive with a higher car height at Spa, because the cars cannot drive too close to the ground due to compression in the Eau Rouge, the RB18 was able to play to its strengths much better. Too low a car height risks the underbody hitting the track too hard.
In particular, it seems that Ferrari and Mercedes only generate more downforce when they run close to the ground, while Red Bull can still achieve peak performance with a higher car height.
This element, and the fact that the car was strong on the straights, meant that Red Bull lost less at altitude and were in a different league on track at Spa.
Horner: FIA directive has hurt others more
Team boss Christian Horner says: “I think this track played to our strengths. We have a very efficient car and have found a very good set-up. On top of that, Max is just in phenomenal form. “
On the rumours before the weekend that Red Bull had brought a lightweight chassis to Belgium, Horner countered, “No, we didn’t bring it and we don’t have one. So it was not a factor in the performance.”
“I think a lot has been made of it and a lot of expectations have been put on that technical directive and maybe it has hurt others more than ourselves. But we haven’t really changed anything in the way we run the car. Of course, grip is always an issue here because of Eau Rouge, but it’s not just us. It’s like that with every team. “
Will there be a lightweight chassis or not?
“I think we’ve already seen this year that we’re going with a higher vehicle height. Our philosophy is probably a bit different from the others. Maybe we’ll get a technical directive for the next race that we have to drive much lower,” Horner can’t help taking a dig at the competition.
Although the Red Bull team boss dismissed the idea that Red Bull had introduced a lighter chassis for Spa, he is tight-lipped about the possibility of the team working on such a plan.
Red Bull have been fighting the minimum weight all season, but have been able to make solid progress and are within a few kilograms of the ideal.
Asked about the possibility of Red Bull running a lighter chassis in the next two or three races – with Singapore mentioned as a possible date for the debut – Horner was very cautious in his words, “There is no … This chassis [from Belgium] will be used in the next couple of races. “
