Mercedes and Ferrari recently announced the launch date of their respective 2022 Formula One challengers and the hype has since been sky high. However, on the other side, it has been a rather silent month for rivals, Red Bull Racing, so far.
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The only major revealing that the Milton Keynes outfit managed to do this month is the initial of their 2022 F1 car which goes by the name RB18. And apart from that, there hasn’t been much social media activity taking place on Red Bull’s side.
So, what’s happening to the outfit that, quite recently, guided Max Verstappen to his first-ever world championship title? Did they hit a speed bump in the development of RB18? Well, according to reports, that seems to be the reason, but the world-class crew aren’t worried much as of yet.
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Bad start for Red Bull in 2022?
February has arrived and no exciting news whatsoever has managed to break out of the Austrian outfit. According to Motorsport, it looks like Red Bull might have failed the frontal crash test which consequently would have led them to not receive homologation from the FIA.
Formula One F1 – Young Driver Test – Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – December 14, 2021 Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and mechanics during testing REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed
A lot of teams managed to gain a thumbs-up from the FIA, including Aston Martin, Haas, Ferrari, McLaren, and Mercedes. However, for Red Bull, this might take a while. It is likely that Red Bull failed the test, forcing the team to reassess the ability to absorb energy from the nose and the front chassis.
But, quite interestingly, the technicians, including the mastermind Adrian Newey aren’t worried about it!
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Why the engineers aren’t worried
We’ve often said many that there must be a reason for everything. Rightly so, there is a reason why the technicians at Milton Keynes are sporting a calm face despite the obstruction. This is reportedly not the first time Red Bull have failed a test.
Back in 2003, Newey caused a mess at McLaren while trying to build the MP4-18. While the car was expected to hit the track after a few weeks into the season, the reality had a different story altogether.
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The tight rear bodywork led the car to cause too many reliability issues including frequent fire at the back during testing. Eventually, Newey deemed the car to be aerodynamically unstable despite being quick and the chassis redesign looked mandatory, but there just wasn’t enough time.
Hence, to date, that McLaren designed by Newey remains the only F1 car never to show up to a Grand Prix event. Newey definitely would have learned enough from the botch-up one would reckon.
Formula One F1 – Austrian Grand Prix – Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, Styria, Austria – Red Bull’s Max Verstappen during the race REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger
Hence, can Newey avoid the repeat the rare 2003 turmoil in 2022? Well, only time will tell.
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