While Red Bull itself has played down talk of a repeat of it being as clear in front of the opposition as it was last year – when it won all but one grand prix – its rivals are not taking anything for granted.
And McLaren, which ended the year as Red Bull’s most consistent challenger, is especially wary about the situation because it knows the world champion squad turned off development of its 2023 car early.
It means that Red Bull has potentially been able to concentrate on some big gains for its 2024 car that have not been seen in public.
Speaking at McLaren’s 2024 livery launch, McLaren CEO Zak Brown said his squad hoped to chase down Red Bull this year – but had to be realistic about things.
“Clearly we want to continue to close the gap,” he said. “We finished up last year as the second or third quickest team, depending on what circuit you were at.
“Car development has been strong, but Red Bull certainly seems like they didn’t develop last year to the level they could if they wanted to. So that could be an unpleasant surprise for all of us.”
Source: Autosport