Red Bull Racing’s Technical Director Discusses Success and Future Plans

In a recent interview, Pierre Wache, the Technical Director of Red Bull Racing, reflected on the team’s exceptional performance in the 2023 Formula 1 season. Under his guidance, the team achieved unprecedented success with the RB19, winning 21 out of 22 races. Max Verstappen, the team’s star driver, clinched 19 of those victories on the way to securing his third consecutive drivers’ title.

Wache, however, modestly downplayed Red Bull’s achievements, stating that they had not done an ‘amazing job.’ He acknowledged weaknesses in the previous RB18 model and credited the team’s efforts in mitigating these flaws with the RB19. Despite the dominant season, Wache emphasized the importance of continuous improvement.

According to Wache, Red Bull’s success in 2023 was partially due to the regressions of their competitors and their inability to keep pace with the team. Wache highlighted McLaren‘s notable improvement but suggested that other teams lost their way between the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

One of the prominent storylines of 2023 was the performance gap between Verstappen and his teammate Sergio Perez. Wache attributed this gap to engineering challenges rather than driving ability, emphasizing the importance of providing drivers with the tools to cope with the car’s weaknesses.

Despite the disparity in points between Verstappen and Perez, Wache lauded Verstappen’s skill and contribution to the team’s success. He commended Verstappen’s consistency, maturity, and technical feedback, highlighting the driver’s ability to translate on-track performance into precise engineering feedback.

Looking ahead to the upcoming season, Wache expressed optimism about the potential improvements with the Red Bull RB20. While acknowledging the records set by the RB19, he indicated a focus on enhancing ride, kerbing, and low-speed performance for the new model.