Damon Hill believes “Red Bull needs to manage its decline” to secure Max Verstappen’s F1 title. Damon Hill, 1997 F1 world champion, feels Red Bull must "manage its decline" .

Damon Hill, 1997 Formula One world champion and now Expert Analyst for Sky Sports F1, believes that Red Bull must “manage its decline” in order to secure the drivers’ title with Max Verstappen at the end of the 2024 F1 season

Red Bull’s “crisis” is visible to everyone. For seven races, the Dutch team has not been able to win a Grand Prix, and since Baku, McLaren has surpassed them in the Constructors’ Championship standings. The Austrian team lost the lead in the championship after 55 races (Miami 2022).

Given the performances of Red Bull, McLaren, and Ferrari, the team led by Christian Horner is unlikely to regain the leadership of the standings, and may even need to watch out for the comeback of the Maranello squad.

In the Drivers’ Championship, Max Verstappen is still in front of Lando Norris by 52 points ahead of the United States Grand Prix, which will take place at the 5.513-kilometre Circuit of The Americas in Austin on Sunday, October 20. The English McLaren driver has set his sights on Max Verstappen, but the Dutchman will try to put everything on the line to fend off his challenge.

According to Damon Hill, it is now up to Red Bull to “manage the decline” in order to at least defend the drivers’ title for their Dutch driver.

“You never want to be second. When you’re leading the standings, it’s great to win,” Damon Hill said on the Sky Sports F1 podcast, referring to Max Verstappen. The world champion with Williams then added: “Obviously, you can win a championship by consistently finishing in the points and coming second, but that makes everything much more intense.”

Speaking again about the Constructors’ Championship, Damon Hill said: “Red Bull is going backward. It’s like gravity is pulling them down as the championship progresses. They’re literally losing performance because everyone else is accelerating their development and finding gains that Red Bull simply can’t achieve. They need to manage the decline, if you can call it that.”

Finally, referring once more to the Constructors’ Championship, Damon Hill concluded by saying: “I think Red Bull will probably feel they’ve already lost the Constructors’ Championship, especially considering Sergio Perez’s performances and bad luck.”