The Red Bull RB17 is astonishing. Twelve-hundred horsepower, from a 4.5-liter V-10, a sub-2,000-pound curb weight, and capable of up to 3,747 pounds of downforce. Adrian Newey, Red Bull’s soon-departing design genius and the main mind behind the RB17, spoke to media at the car’s Goodwood Festival of Speed debut Friday and revealed another astonishing figure—in recent simulation testing, the RB17 was quicker than a modern Formula 1 car. About a second a lap quicker than the pole time around Silverstone for last week’s British Grand Prix.
“This car is something that through its makeup with the active suspension, the tailored downforce depending on the speed and settings and so forth, the balance adjustments we can build into it through the active suspension, and three different tire choices, it’s a car that’s capable of being driven by a good amateur who’s also hopefully done some training with us on the simulator, and can really feel the car, and then start to build and develop with the car, through to ultimately, in the right hands, capable of Formula 1 lap times,” Newey told media including Motor1.
“In our simulations, driver-in-the-loop simulations, they would’ve comfortably been on pole in Silverstone last weekend. I can’t remember the exact number, if I’m honest, but [it’s about one second]. Put that into context, it’s obviously a simulation, a driver-in-the-loop simulation, so there’s always going to be error in that, but it’s in that ballpark.”
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An astonishing number. And one that comes on a bespoke “confidential” Michelin tire developed specifically for the RB17. Similar to what Michelin uses in LMDh and Hypercar, this tire uses compounds that Michelin doesn’t even reveal to the car constructor. They also take the tires back with them after the car has run.
All of this might be a bit much for anyone who’s name isn’t Max Verstappen, but as Newey says, the car uses its active aero and suspension systems to make things more approachable. There’s also two other Michelin tires, one treaded, one slick that are both designed to make life easier for the driver, at the expense of some performance. Red Bull Advanced Technologies technical director Rob Gray also tells Motor1 that the engine has power-level modes too.
Red Bull will make 50 examples of the RB17 starting next year. Soon after, it’ll be setting very fast lap times at circuits around the world.