The 2021 Formula 1 season will of course be remembered for the epic contest between Mercedes and Red Bull and Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. The championship got incredibly heated between both the teams and the drivers, but in the end it was Verstappen who prevailed in that insane final round in Abu Dhabi, with Mercedes seemingly taking little consolation from winning an eight consecutive constructors' championship. Heading into 2022, it will be the Red Bull of Verstappen that carries the number one, the first time we have seen that number since 2014 on the Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel.
Red Bull will now want to reclaim the constructor’s championship they came close to grabbing in 2021, while also defending the drivers title with Verstappen. There was a vibe going around that Red Bull might have sacrificed the 2022 season to win the title with Verstappen in 2021. But when the real Red Bull RB18 broke cover at Barcelona testing, those doubts soon went away. The RB18 is probably the most aggressive of all 2022 cars, and while Red Bull pushed hard in 2021, it's arguable they are ready to push even harder in 2022 to steal the constructors crown from Mercedes.
Several Seasons Nipping At Mercedes Heels
The 2021 season certainly marked a turning point for Red Bull. It was the first time in the hybrid era that they became true championship contenders. The team has only been able to win sporadically since the turbo hybrid era began in 2014, initially with Renault power before becoming the works Honda team in 2019, with junior team Toro Rosso starting that partnership in 2018. The 2019 season saw Verstappen take three wins, while 2020 was tougher with just two wins and a tricky car, but the second win in Abu Dhabi at the end of the year was a crushing one over Mercedes.
This raised hopes Red Bull might be able to match the Silver Arrows in 2021, and they did. Verstappen took 10 pole positions and 10 wins on his way to the title. He finished no lower than second in every race he finished except one, in Hungary, where he was effectively wiped out at the start and finished only 9th. It was only bad luck and the Silverstone crash that really stopped Verstappen winning the title early, and he made fewer mistakes than title rival Hamilton. Newcomer to the team Sergio Perez took some time to get going, but he scored a win in Baku, and took a further four podiums as he adjusted to the RB16B. And who can forget his defense of Hamilton in Abu Dhabi, which was so crucial to Verstappen’s title win.
An Aggressive Car For 2022
When Red Bull launched its RB18 at its online launch event, viewers very quickly realized that this was just the F1 2022 show car with a Red Bull livery on it, and as lightly different nose to confuse those from other teams. Red Bull finally showed the real car off in Barcelona, after it had also had a shakedown at Silverstone a few days prior. The real RB18 is a very aggressive design, and it is clear that design genius Adrian Newey and his team have worked hard on the new car.
The most notable feature is the aggressive sidepod solution on the RB18. The car has a very narrow inlet to cool the Red Bull badged Honda power unit, but the undercut below them is huge and an incredibly bold design. It then merges up with the coke bottle shaped rear section of the car. It is hugely different to all the team's rivals, with the likes of Aston Martin and Ferrari going for bigger sidepods while the likes of Mercedes and McLaren, while they have tight sidepods, don’t have the aggressive undercut the Red Bull does. Only sister team Alpha Tauri has something that comes close.
More Aggression Across The Design
The nose of the Red Bull also has an interesting design solution, with it merging with the second wing element instead of going all the way to the front. Despite this, and despite Red Bull looking to have had a very good Barcelona test, some felt there were some areas of the car that looked incomplete. Max Verstappen himself said that the car will be pretty much completely different in Bahrain for the second pre-season test. So Barcelona may well have been to try out the initial concept, prove it works, and just get a basic understanding of the car. It could also be a consequence of fighting so hard for the title in 2021, but if it is, it doesn’t look to have slowed the team down too much, if at all.
Ready To Beat Mercedes Once Again
While we may not get something quite as intense in 2022 as we did in 2021, it's clear Red Bull want to start this new era ahead of their biggest rivals once again. And they will also be conscious of the potential threat posed by Ferrari and McLaren, who also had a strong week in Spain. But beating Mercedes to both the drivers and constructors titles will be the goal for Red Bull. Team boss Christian Horner has said that seeing the number one on Verstappen’s car has energized the entire team to go out there and do it again. Another weapon in the team's arsenal is Perez, who will be fully bedded into the team and might have helped them build a car that, while it may lean towards Verstappen still, will be much better suited to his needs. Expect Red Bull to give it their all again in 2022.
Sources: Oracle Red Bull Racing F1 Team/Red Bull Content Pool, Eurosport, Motorsport Magazine