"Nobody from Red Bull is interested in playing around in grey areas" - RB boss confirms the independent nature of the team's working

Laurent Mekies suggests that RB are only sharing some components with Red Bull which is permitted in the rules and saves costs in the cost cap era of the sport. Speaking exclusively to Motorsport Network, the Frenchman felt that the Faenza-based squad was working with its sister team well within the rules framework.

Red Bull has been under scrutiny for having the provision of a second team owned by a single owner. Zak Brown has been thoroughly critical of the relationship between the two. Mekies had explained in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia that both teams function independently. While many in the paddock thought their car was a copy of the RB19, the VCARB01 turned out to be only an evolution of its predecessor, the AT03.

The French team principal felt the regulations that allowed such component sharing even benefitted teams such as Haas and Williams, who share similar relationships with their engine supplier teams. He believes that the component sharing between RB and Red Bull was merely to cut costs and did not have any significant performance gains as reflected in their results.

Explaining the relationship between RB and Red Bull Racing, Mekies said:

“Nobody from Red Bull is interested in playing around in grey areas of the rules, and fortunately for us the rules are very clear. We share some components that the rules allow, as does half the pitlane. We have not seen a Williams on pole or a Haas on the podium, and this is because the shareable components did not include parts that were particularly significant in terms of performance, instead focusing on parts with a high development/cost ratio.”

“These regulations also aimed to favour a new business model, to offer the possibility for a Formula 1 team to compete on the track without obliging it to make very significant investments in certain components, such as transmissions. I would like to point out that even at such a favourable time for F1 on the financial front, our owners continue to allocate budget every year, and I think this is the case for a large part of the grid.”

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Red Bull sister team principal feels that late upgrades in 2023 aided them up the grid

RB team principal Laurent Mekies believes upgrades in the second half of 2023 helped them perform better and moved them up in the championship. With Red Bull dominating the season, their sister team was under fire for sitting last in the championship for the majority of the year. Replacing Nyck De Vries with Daniel Ricciardo helped them earn those vital points in the second half at the Mexico GP. The French team principal claims that there were various components changed to the car that reflected in the results.

Explaining the evolution of AT03 in the second half of 2023, Mekies said during the same interview:

“It certainly wasn't just a matter of suspension. We saw that nothing miraculous happened in terms of performance. The team was 10th in the championship for a long time, and to try and change things the decision was made to make a much bigger change with a development programme that went right up to the last race in Abu Dhabi.”

“Practically half the car was changed and the results were also evident because of the fact that it was the only team having a development programme at that stage. It was a gamble that paid off, the team gained two positions in the constructors' championship, and besides the sporting reward there was also the financial one.”

RB finished eighth in the championship in 2023 and narrowly missed out on seventh against Williams. By 2024, the team will have rebranded from their old name AlphaTauri, along with new personnel hired in key roles and a lot of funding. Yet to score their first points of the season, it is going to be critical for both drivers to push for a clean result. They are currently accompanied by Williams, Alpine and Alfa Romeo who are yet to score a point.