Red Bull believe performance will come as much from understanding this year’s rule changes as it will car development.
Teams are still split on which front wing concept is the best with McLaren the only team to adopt the Alfa Romeo/Ferrari-style design which curves down at the outer edges.
Meanwhile, Red Bull and Mercedes, with the more traditional approach, have both been caught out by the new regulations, having had ideas deemed illegal in China.
“I think it’s all about evolution,” Horner said to Crash.net on the development of the RB15.
“We are not at our optimum yet in terms of where we would like to be with these new regulations and construction of the tyre, but I think Spain was a step forward and hopefully more will follow.”
Also Read:
- Gasly sees ‘good potential’ for Red Bull as Honda eyes power gains
- Mercedes: Thinner treads turning 2019 tyres into a ‘science’ for teams
When asked what was the bigger issue, the Red Bull boss would explain the main challenges that came from the simplified aerodynamics and Pirelli’s change in philosophy.
“I think probably a combination of the two,” he confessed.
“Obviously there’s something like 25 percent less rubber on these tyres and they are stiffer, we were very good on the tyres at the end of last year.
“I think the concept of aerodynamics that we’ve evolved over the last year’s was very sensitive to the front wing, so obviously we’re having to re-balance that and re-focus.
“[But] considering where we were at the pre-season tests eight or nine weeks ago, to have closed that gap and put the performance on the car is really encouraging and obviously now we have to try and focus on diminishing the gap further to Mercedes,” Horner concluded.
