How the renewed Red Bull influence is present in RB's new F1 car

Look, we've had our fun with the Visa Cash App RB name. It's certainly accrued a lot of interest among those who deride the transactions made to stuff finance-driven businesses in its moniker. Things would only have been enhanced if the team had signed Chip Ganassi as team manager and Doriane Pin as a driver so we'd have the "Chip and PIN" dream pairing...

Fiscal puns aside, the name can be forgiven (especially as we're just calling it RB) if the team did not tread the same road as the previous launches and actually put some paint on the car. And, credit where credit is due, it's done the business with a facsimile of the 2017-2019-era Toro Rosso liveries.

The white patches detract from the original rendition, but they're not too egregiously placed. Any fear that the contrasting sponsor logos would create some kind of hellish branding landscape have been misplaced, so the team formerly known as AlphaTauri has probably pulled to the top of the livery rankings by default. Its stock has certainly risen...

Things get slightly more intriguing on the technical front, since the team has changed its approach to align even more closely with Red Bull and pick up as many transferrable components as the regulations allow. That closeness with Red Bull, both from an engineering and geographical standpoint as it has moved some of its facilities to its Milton Keynes complex, has a couple of teams slightly rattled; the suggestion was that AlphaTauri as-was put a floor on its AT04 in Abu Dhabi to help its sister team with some development work. The improvements that it offered in low-speed conditions, argued McLaren CEO Zak Brown, offers "big concerns over the alliance" between the two teams.

Part of that alignment between the two teams extends to the use of suspension components, and RB has taken on suspension components from Red Bull's 2023 car having initially built its own. A switch to the rear suspension used by the RB19 in Singapore helped dial more performance into last year's car, and this now extends to the front suspension package - including pull-rod actuated springs. The team has thus implemented the heavily inclined wishbones within the RB19's front suspension to imbue the VCARB 01 (yes, really) with improved anti-dive properties to keep the floor platform less affected by changes in pitch.

RB's VCARB 01 has clear technical alignments to sister squad Red Bull

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Other details appear to be evolutions of how the AT04 ended the season; the nose is similar in form but slightly more sculpted into a spoon-shaped dip in the centre of the wing, while the sidepods retain their shape with the topside blister generating a channel to offer the downwashing airflow some direction. But the inlet here is different, slightly more Red Bull-like with an underbiting leading edge built to help enlarge the undercut.

The late-season rear wing has also been included, with the exposed-tip upper element that became a prevailing trend last season. A small bracket near the front corners of that upper element helps to keep the wing within the legality window set by the FIA, but skirts the intent of the rules governing the rear wing to increase vorticity at the tips - boosting rear wing performance.

Given the similarities to the AT04, we can likely expect a few things to come with new aerodynamic surfaces and developments promised for 2024, although the late floor upgrade was added to last year's Abu Dhabi package with a view to developing it for this season given the stability of the regulations. With that in mind, those hoping that the VCARB 01 would issue some insights into this year's Red Bull design might be a little disappointed, but it won't be wholly surprising to see more of the RB19 genes in its sister team's new charger.

It's natural that McLaren would be so vocal against the Red Bull/RB bond, because two teams operating on the same plane would only serve to lock out those who made progress last year

Of all the teams who finished in the lower half of the constructors' standings in 2023, there's an air of optimism at RB; it feels as though it has the most potential to theoretically make the leap into the upper half. Much of that will be down to the expected RB19 influences present in the new car and, rather than the other teams having to interpret last year's title winning chariot's strengths through photographs and imagination, RB can tap into that vein from the source. Having been identified as one of the stronger teams in low-speed corners by the end of last season, RB will need to maintain that trait so that, if it can enjoy a similarly consistent range of performances compared to its sister team, it won't get exposed at Singapore.

It's natural that McLaren would be so vocal against the Red Bull/RB bond, because two teams operating on the same plane would only serve to lock out those who made progress last year and hope to continue their ascent through the order. RB managing a leap of that magnitude would be surprising, but one only has to look how McLaren plotted its own course last season to see that it's nonetheless possible to make that ground.

Just how closely matched the VCARB 01 is to Red Bull's RB19 will be realised when it launches next week

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

The other storyline of interest at the team involves the drivers, particularly as a Red Bull seat remains ripe for the picking if Sergio Perez continues to misfire in 2024. Of the two, there is the perception that Daniel Ricciardo is the more favoured driver to reclaim the bench alongside Max Verstappen, but this does Yuki Tsunoda's growth and progress over 2023 a great disservice. Sure, Ricciardo was impressive before and after his Zandvoort injury, but Tsunoda was much less error-prone and his Abu Dhabi exploits were highly commendable. The team was within a few points of snatching seventh in the championship away from Williams, and Tsunoda's efforts in the finale were key to taking it down to the wire.

Would Tsunoda, should he impress and beat Ricciardo over 2024, be an option that Red Bull would want to consider? It would likely go one of two ways: either his bullishness and bravery would carry him into a situation where he would be wholly unfazed by the prospect of racing alongside Verstappen, or he'd overthink it and ultimately set himself mental traps that he later becomes ensnared in. Ricciardo is probably better equipped to deal with the Verstappen challenge, but would he end up in a situation like that of his McLaren tenure - left on the fringes while the younger driver courts the attention?

Whichever way you cut it, be it the drivers fighting for a grander prize or the team absorbing Red Bull's knowledge to ignite its own rise, RB has a big year ahead. And, dressed in its old blue suit, the cars certainly look the part - it now all depends if Visa Cash App RB can cash in on the ingredients it has in place... and swipe a few trophies over 2024.

What can RB produce this season?

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool