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Motorsport

Lydia Mee

Red Bull's Austrian GP upgrade package compared to "B-spec" F1 car by former mechanic

Red Bull Calum Nicholas FIA Max Verstappen Austrian Grand Prix

Red Bull's extensive Austrian Grand Prix upgrade package felt like a "B-spec" car, according to the team's former mechanic Calum Nicholas, who suspects a hidden weight reduction programme played a big part in the team's return to form.

The Milton Keynes outfit arrived at the Red Bull Ring with a substantial list of updates. The official FIA documentation listed seven modifications, heavily targeting flow conditioning. The revisions featured changes to the sidepod inlets, engine cover, floor top and underside, rear corners and rear suspension fairings.

Speaking on the team's official Talking Bull podcast, Nicholas discussed the scale of the changes.

"You look at the FIA document, it's mostly flow conditioning. It's all been about extracting the most downforce and making the car more efficient," the mechanic-turned-Red Bull ambassador explained.

"Everything from the sidepod inlet to the engine cover, the floor, the top section of the floor, the underside, rear corners, rear suspension fairings - it's a lot. And it does almost feel like a B-spec car.

"I wonder though if the vast majority of the pace that we've seen today has actually come from the diet programme that it's been under. We talked about the weight loss, and I know we started the year severely overweight. I wonder how much of that has actually come from the fact that we've brought some upgrades that are under the bodywork, things that you can't necessarily see, or don't have to declare on an FIA document.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing (Photo by: Alastair Staley / LAT Images via Getty Images)

"Those can be the things that still gain you a lot of time. With weight loss, it's one of those things where you're finding all of the tiny little marginal gains. It's not like you'll have one component that's just massively overweight. It's about looking at all of the installations and finding the little areas that you can find these little gains on.

"And I wonder how much of it came from the aero and the performance that we brought through the upgrades that we declared, and how much of the performance came from losing a bit of timber."

Max Verstappen claimed the second-place trophy at the Red Bull Ring and his team-mate Isack Hadjar finished the race in sixth, meaning the team walked away from the Austrian Grand Prix with 26 points.

Photos from Austrian GP - Sunday

57 Formula 1

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes; George Russell, Mercedes; Toto Wolff, Mercedes

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes; George Russell, Mercedes; Toto Wolff, Mercedes

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes; George Russell, Mercedes; Toto Wolff, Mercedes

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

George Russell, Mercedes

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, George Russell, Mercedes

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

George Russell, Mercedes; Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes; Max Verstappen, Red Bull

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, George Russell, Mercedes

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

George Russell, Mercedes

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

George Russell, Mercedes

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

George Russell, Mercedes

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

George Russell, Mercedes

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

George Russell, Mercedes

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

Nico Hulkenberg, Audi F1 Team

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

Mercedes mechanics

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

Fans wave flags

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac Racing

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

Franco Colapinto, Alpine, Alexander Albon, Williams

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

Start action

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

Start action

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

Mark Mateschitz

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

Frederic Vasseur, Ferrari

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

Aston Martin Team members on the grid

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi F1 Team

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Racing

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

George Russell, Mercedes

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

Ayao Komatsu, Haas F1 Team

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

Laurent Mekies, Team Principal, Red Bull Racing

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi F1 Team

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

George Russell, Mercedes

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

Toto Wolff, Mercedes

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Lando Norris, McLaren, Sergio Perez, Cadillac Racing

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

George Russell, Mercedes

Austrian Grand Prix - Sunday

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