Red Bull have been so dominant in the past couple of years that they have established a new benchmark for excellence in the sport and that trend is likely to continue going ahead after their new challenger was tested out.
Development driver Jake Dennis believes the reigning constructors’ champions are going to blow rivals away in the upcoming season after trying out the new challenger on the simulator.
Dennis, who works as a development driver for the Milton Keynes-based outfit, has the job of trying out the Red Bull car on the simulator and providing feedback to engineers.
The RB19 was utterly dominant last year, with the duo of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez winning all but one race across the campaign.
While rivals have got the winter break to reassess their challengers and potentially copy a lot of the things that Red Bull got right last year, Dennis believes this yer’s car is a different beast altogether.
“I would expect us to become champions again, unless someone like Ferrari or Mercedes somehow manages to find about a second overnight,” Dennis said.
Max Verstappen was especially breathtaking, winning 19 of the total 22 races that took place over the season. Pressure continued to mount on Perez with every passing Grand Prix as the Mexican driver, who had started the season with two wins in the opening four races, was unable to add to this tally.
Red Bull were left with lesser time to develop their challenger this season owing to cost caps and a limitation on their wind tunnel testing time. This may have given rivals Mercedes and Ferrari a sense of optimism, but if Dennis’ words are anything to go by, it will be yet another uphill task for them.
Jake Dennis is the defending Formula E champion, but is currently not being eyed by any F1 team.