RB has acknowledged that rushing through an upgrade package for its 2024 Formula 1 car before the Spanish Grand Prix was a mistake. RB CEO Peter Bayer admitted that the team made an error in quickly implementing the latest upgrades, which resulted in a drop in competitiveness. The team had been performing well before the race in Spain, with points finishes in four consecutive rounds, but struggled to understand the revisions made to the car. Both drivers were eliminated in Q1, prompting RB to split components for the following race in Austria. Despite a ninth-place finish by Daniel Ricciardo, he felt that the team had exceeded expectations considering their lack of outright speed.
Bayer explained that the decision to bring the upgrades earlier than planned was influenced by RB’s earlier success in fast-tracking developments. The original plan was to introduce the upgrades in Miami, but the team took the risk of bringing them to Barcelona instead. However, they had not conducted sufficient analysis and preparation, resulting in a disappointing outcome. The team has learned from this experience and has taken the upgrades back to the factory for further evaluation. Different packages were tested on both cars to gather more data.
RB Team Principal Laurent Mekies revealed that the team used the Sprint race as an opportunity to run the cars in alternative specifications to enhance their understanding of the updates. Despite the challenges of comparing specifications during a Sprint weekend, the team believed it was a necessary investment for their future development. Mekies commended the team and drivers for their efforts in configuring the best setup for the race.
Looking ahead to the upcoming race at Silverstone, RB Technical Director Jody Egginton confirmed that the team will converge the two cars to a single optimized aero package. The team has learned valuable lessons from their recent experiments with aero updates in Austria, and they expect these findings to positively impact their ongoing development process.
