Did Red Bull Make the Same Mistake That Made Lewis Hamilton Leave Mercedes?

While we have all studied how every action has an equal and opposite reaction in theory, Lewis Hamilton‘s debacle with Mercedes is an example of Newton’s Third Law in real life. Several opinions have mentioned how the Brit leaving Mercedes for Ferrari was his reaction to his team’s non-compliance action. Now, with another similar situation coming up with the new Red Bull RB20 and Max Verstappen, let’s discuss if the 2024 challenger will have the same effect on the three-time World champion’s future.

We discuss this scenario because of the drastic changes in the design, especially the sidepods of the RB20. The aggressive approach by Red Bull’s genius Adrian Newey has raised a lot of eyebrows. Now we ponder upon the question if the 2024 Red Bull challenger, which is reminiscent of the troubled Mercedes W14, will have the same effect on Verstappen as it had on Hamilton’s career.

Let’s look at the changes introduced in the RB20 and debate what implications the aggressive design might have

Verstappen threw everyone off by making a, “Oh yeah, it’s going to look exactly the same” confession. Everyone believed it as well because that’s what Red Bull has been doing for the past few years. So, for the 2024 livery launch, everyone went in with zero expectations and the Austrian team baffled them.

The RB20 is a completely different machinery and the sidepod design stole the show. The design is reminiscent of the troubled Mercedes machinery as the RB20 design stepped away from the trends the entire grid is following now which Red Bull set at the start of the current rules era.

In the design aspect, the RB20 has taken an aggressive approach, and “some of the details on the car is absolutely exquisite,” according to Christian Horner. Naturally, the car and the sidepod took all the attention. So, let us point out the changes.

As you know, the most eye-catching bit is the sidepod. The sidepod design resembles bits of the W14 which the team abandoned at the start. Apart from the sidepod inlet shape, the big shoulders on the engine cover of the RB20 also resemble the W14. The tall vertical sidepod inlet has made the overall sidepod slimmer than before. The RB20 also has comparatively bigger cannons running back from the Halo, which are again very initial 2023 Mercedes car.

These similarities sent the fans into a frenzy, naturally. It looks like the Mercedes but does it run like it too? We won’t know until the Bahrain pre-season test and the season opener. The bold decision by the team led by Adrian Newey might be onto something or they could’ve gotten the car horribly wrong. If it’s the latter, we might see Verstappen forcefully ending his contract early to cut his losses. Because if the car turns out to be a disaster in his prime years, the hungry Dutchman wouldn’t want to wait around for the team to rectify their error while others whiz past him.

Having said that, what are the reasons that led Lewis Hamilton to take such a massive decision?

The massive implications the 2023 Mercedes W13 had on the career of Lewis Hamilton

On the back of missing out on a record-breaking eighth championship title by hair’s width, Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton were ready for revenge. This is exactly why, for 2022, they wanted to do something radical and aggressive which gave birth to the W13 and the zeropod design. We are sure nobody needs a recap of how troubled the radical Mercedes machinery was and how the season eventually turned out for Mercedes and Hamilton, specifically after facing immense backlash and constant suggestions to retire.

Heading into 2023, thanks to a solitary race win in Brazil from George Russell, the zeropod got a new lease on life and transformed into the W14. However, after the first few races, and incessant complaints from Hamilton, the team abandoned the concept and went back to F1 standard sidepods. However, till then, it was too late.

Read More: “I Guess Time Will Tell”: Max Verstappen Makes Candid Admission on RB20

The team had already lost ground compared to Red Bull and Verstappen ran riot in the RB19. This reality and Mercedes’ reported complacency and nonchalance toward Hamilton pushed him to take his talents elsewhere. This and Alex Albon’s appendicitis, as pointed out by fans, made Hamilton’s move to Ferrari possible.

However, many believe it was Mercedes’ zeropod concept, the continued faith in the flawed concept, and their inability to reverse their mistake, which pushed Hamilton to sign for Ferrari. Now, there might be seeing a chance of history repeating itself with the 2024 Red Bull challenger, though one can’t be entirely sure.

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We’ll have to wait to see if Red Bull has made the same mistake as Mercedes or if they’ve perfected the concept Mercedes couldn’t. Fans are surely waiting with bated breath to see the new machinery of the reigning world champions on the track. Until then, let’s try and point out more changes in the RB20.