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Now that Max Verstappen has clinched the driver’s title, Red Bull have decided there will be no further upgrades on the car.
After a few rocky races, the RB18 became incredibly consistent and quickly became the dominant car on the grid. It has carried Verstappen to his second championship and is far ahead of other teams in the Constructors’ Championship.
In light of this dominance and confirmed victory for Verstappen, Red Bull have decided to shift their focus from the 2022 season and look forward to the next one.
Red Bull last brought upgrades in Singapore and are still planning to get to the end of the season without any more.
Chief Technical Officer Rob Marshall announced this on the F1 Nation Podcast.
“All focus is now fully on 2023. There are still some very minimal things to come, but there will be no major updates between now and the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.”
This is understandable as the team has nearly wrapped up both championships. However, the decision appears to be a calculated one as this is an area where Red Bull can save money.
This news comes in the midst of the cost cap breach. It was recently declared that Red Bull did exceed the cost cap in 2021.
Because of this, Red Bull will likely be more wary when it comes to spending as they know it will be highly scrutinised. On top of this, they still don’t know what the punishment will be so will probably want to save money and not overstretch themselves before they finally know.
Team Rivals
Despite Red Bull firmly looking ahead to next year with no planned upgrades before Abu Dhabi, other teams will be introducing them. Mercedes have announced they will bring some to the US Grand Prix.
It will be their last aero upgrade – an area where they have noticeably struggled. Although the upgrade could be promising, they will be unable to catch Red Bull this year. The championship leaders are 232 points ahead of Mercedes with four races remaining.
Ferrari, despite being closer to Red Bull, don’t seem to have much hope of catching them either. They could if they brought a dramatic upgrade package in contrast to Red Bull’s no-upgrade policy. But even then, the championship appears to be sealed.
With four races left to go, Ferrari are 165 points off Red Bull so it would take a lot of Red Bull no-points finishes for them to catch up. Perhaps the biggest battle we will see is between Mercedes and Ferrari. Even then, that seems to be a done deal.
Feature Image: Mark Thompson: Red Bull Content Pool