As rivals try to get to the bottom of what Red Bull has done to produce so dominant a car as its 2023 challenger, there has been an increased focus on the gains coming from it having such a stable platform.
Because while the car is producing good levels of downforce with brilliant efficiency, and a powerful DRS, one aspect not to be overlooked is the way that the car maintains its ride in corners.
There is a growing belief that it is down to clever mechanical aspects of the car and its suspension systems that Red Bull can run closer to the ground than others for maximum downforce, without it risking porpoising, damaging the plank, nor facing compromises when turning.
As well as the performance gains that come from this characteristic, the consistency throughout the lap also helps increase driver confidence in how the car is going to behave under braking, while cornering and under acceleration – therefore allowing Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez to push harder.
Monaghan says that there are numerous aspects beyond aerodynamics that have come together to make the RB19 so strong.
Asked by Motorsport.com about how important the ride and consistent platform was for the package as a whole, Monaghan said: “It is a contributing factor, and you have to weigh all of those aspects.
“It’s a significant player in the performance of the car, but it has to merge with the other aspects.
“However, your aero map is developing, you have to be able to operate like that on track, and it has to be a viable proposition on track.
“Equally, you need an engine which is well accommodated and you can operate the engine to the best of its abilities. And we need to give the driver a platform that he can control. So, it's a complex merger of many items.
“I wouldn't say that it's the sole aspect, but it is certainly hugely influential and you weigh it accordingly.
“But all of these aspects go together to put you nearer the front of the grid rather than the back of the grid. And that is why we're very privileged where we are.”
Ever since F1’s ground effect cars came into play last year, teams have faced a compromise in working out how low and stiff they dare run before they start suffering from porpoising.
Mercedes paid the price in 2022 when its car produced its peak downforce too close to the ground, and it duly encountered a lot of bouncing when it tried to operate in that window.
This year, the team has gone too far the other way and found that it is compromised by running the car too high and it not producing enough downforce.
Aston Martin performance director Tom McCullough agreed that solid ride was essential for delivering lap time with these current rules.
“I think having a stable aerodynamic platform, reference porpoising, with these ground effect cars is very important,” he said.
“It makes our job at the track a lot easier when we know what we're going to get with a car and we know we're not having to compromise.
“Last year, we were doing lots of things that actually compromised the car in certain conditions just to help the porpoising problems. This involved damping, all the spring rates, and all these kinds of things. Now that thankfully is a lot less and has gone.”
Simpler suspension rules
The focus on which clever ideas Red Bull has implemented for its suspension is intriguing because it is an area where there was widely believed to have been a level playing field.
As part of the rules overhaul for 2022, suspension systems were made a lot simpler so teams had fewer tools at their disposal to get things set up the way they want.
McCullough said that this made it harder to get the car running in the right window.
“The aero map will always want you to position the car in certain ways and there are always compromises, like low speed to high speed and what you want from a drag side of things.
“Last year's car was quite challenging in that respect, this year's a little bit easier.
“But I still think the previous-generation cars were easier from that perspective, with all the systems we had on the car and the regulations there.
“Now it's all a lot simpler and more passive, so not quite as easy to globally optimise.”
Williams' head of vehicle performance Dave Robson said the new limits of what teams can do with suspension even impacted aero concepts.
“The regulations, particularly around what you're allowed to do with the suspension, are a lot tighter than they used to be,” he said.
“That’s not just back to when we previously had ground effect cars, but even compared to five or 10 years ago.
“We're allowed to do much less trickery with the suspension layout, and that makes tuning out some of the undesirable aerodynamic characteristics a bit more challenging.
“You've got to work out at what point do you actually say, well the rules don't allow me to counteract the sensitivity, therefore I do need to design it out. And that means getting back to the aero concept and saying, 'well, we'll give up some downforce to get the characteristics that we want.'”
Red Bull winter gains
While Red Bull’s rivals are still chasing answers as to how the team has created a car that is so far ahead of the others, the team itself has played down suggestions that it has done anything dramatic compared to last year.
Asked if Red Bull felt it had made a huge gain over the winter, Monaghan said: “It doesn't feel like we've made a massive step as such.
“There was genuine concern, as you approach any first test or first race, whether we were as competitive as we wanted to be. But with all the brilliant people in Milton Keynes, we will make the best car we can, we'll make the most progress we can, and we're really judged on our opposition, aren't we? If our opposition make a bigger step, we don't come out on top.”
He added: “I think it's been demonstrated that the depth of talent in Milton Keynes has helped us arrive in the situation we're in, and we're very lucky.
“Obviously now we've got to hold on to that because others will try to catch us, and there's scope for them to pass us.
“So, it's really a case of not resting on our laurels, and not becoming complacent. We saw [in Saudi Arabia] what happens if we have a small error, and it could result in fewer points than we might have hoped for.
“So, it's far from done. This is anything but a done deal.”
