Red Bull had a tough weekend in China, with Max Verstappen finishing fourth, over 16 seconds behind race winner Oscar Piastri’s McLaren. The Dutchman struggled in the early stages of the race, losing ground to the leaders, but recovered in the final laps, overtaking Charles Leclerc and salvaging valuable points.
Team principal Christian Horner admitted that the team needs to analyze the RB21’s behavior to understand the sudden improvement in grip in the closing laps. “We lost all the time in the first stint,” he told Sky Sports F1. “On the Hard tires, we were competitive, so we need to figure out if we overcompensated after the degradation seen in the Sprint.”
Podium missed by a hair?
According to Helmut Marko, Max Verstappen may have been too cautious in the first stint, concerned about Medium tire wear. “If he had had a better start and more pace in the first stint, we could have aimed for the podium,” explained the Red Bull advisor.
The team now plans a strategic meeting at its Milton Keynes headquarters to determine how to close the gap to McLaren before the Japanese GP. “We are not throwing in the towel,” Marko assured.
Christian Horner: “It’s not over, we have the tools to react”
Despite Red Bull’s 42-point deficit to McLaren over the last two races, Christian Horner is confident the team has the resources to get back into the title fight. “We are eight points behind in the drivers’ championship, but the season is still long,” he said.
Meanwhile, Max Verstappen is more involved than ever in working with the engineers. “Max is working harder than I’ve ever seen him; he’s fully integrated with the team,” Christian Horner emphasized. The upcoming race in Japan will be crucial in determining whether Red Bull can turn things around and regain its status as the team to beat.
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