The 2012 title race impacted the development of the 2013 Red Bull

The regulatory changes for 2012, mainly around blown exhausts, partly showed their effects at the beginning of the season with seven winners in seven races. In particular, after a wide domination in 2011, Red Bull admits that the development timelines of the 2012 car were impacted by this regulatory change: « There were major regulatory changes with the considerable reduction of the exhaust gases effect, which completely altered the behavior of our car since we were using this effect possibly more than other teams […] Combined with the use of new tires, it took more time than expected to understand the behavior of the car at the beginning of the season […] but Adrian [Newey] and his team held on and the performance was there, » comments Christian Horner, director of the Austrian team.

Even with a better understanding of the car after a few weekends, work on the single-seater continued throughout the season, possibly to Mark Webber’s disadvantage. Horner agrees that the rush to incorporate the latest improvements is probably one of the reasons why Webber fell significantly behind Vettel at the end of the season. Indeed, in mid-season, Webber was second in the championship, only 10 points behind the German, but ultimately ended up sixth in the 2012 standings. Horner states: « Mark never seemed very comfortable with the new specifications ».

In addition to influencing Webber’s fate, it seems that Red Bull is now paying for part of its 2012 triumph. Indeed, Adrian Newey indicates that the continuous development until the last race directly impacted the progress of the 2013 RB9: « It compromised the planning of the new car more than we would have liked. It was the right choice at the time because we managed to finish the work, even if it meant a busy winter trying to make up for lost time ».

Red Bull has still not confirmed its presence at the first tests in Jérez, from February 5 to 8, but should normally decide on this matter next week.