The last few months for Red Bull have certainly been difficult. Max Verstappen has had a very challenging car to drive from a certain point in the season onward, and the situation has progressively worsened, culminating in the rounds at Monza and Baku, where the RB20 probably showed its worst side, preventing the Dutch champion from performing as he had in the early months of what seemed like a triumphant 2024.
Since the Chinese Grand Prix at the end of April, it feels like an eternity has passed: take that event as an example, dominated by Max with a skid before the final corner and the checkered flag, the only slightly thrilling moment in what was probably a very boring period even for him, as he struggled to celebrate after each win, practically served on a silver platter thanks to a literally dominant car.
The first signs appeared at Imola, just a few weeks later: Max Verstappen won with difficulty ahead of Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc, and once he reached the parc fermé, he got out of the car celebrating like he hadn’t in a long time, showing that this victory came not from the car’s strength but from the undeniable talent of the Dutchman, especially in a very challenging period.
After that, yes, there were other wins like in Barcelona, but the feeling that the car’s performance was progressively worsening grew stronger, reaching a peak in July, a disastrous month in terms of performance. During this time, Verstappen made several mistakes, some even trivial, which for a moment brought back memories of pre-Monaco 2018 Max—when he had a “click” in his head after crashing during FP3 while dominating the weekend, and wasted everything with an error as unnecessary as it was sportingly fatal at the Piscine.
Red Bull’s summer technical decline managed by Verstappen
With Adrian Newey’s departure, Red Bull gave Max Verstappen a car that swung between understeer and oversteer, making it very difficult to drive. Despite this, Max still managed to deliver some notable performances, as seen at Silverstone or Zandvoort. However, in other races, like Budapest or Spa, he struggled just to stay on track and keep pace with the others, making it clear that the RB20 was, at that time, the fourth-strongest car on the grid.
Pierre Waché has officially taken over the technical reins of the team after Adrian Newey’s departure, but the French engineer from Auchel seems to have been somewhat confused, even presenting two versions of the car in Budapest—one with this year’s updates and another dating back to 2023, the year of Red Bull’s absolute dominance with 21 wins out of 22 races, 19 of which were with the reigning world champion.
That episode remained isolated but signaled a level of confusion that we struggle to remember at Milton Keynes. Now, things seem a bit calmer, at least on the sporting side. In Singapore, the car received the first part of an upgrade that should be fully implemented in Austin, once the autumn break ends and the final rush begins.
Max Verstappen must manage his lead thanks to Red Bull
Max Verstappen holds a 52-point lead over Lando Norris, his direct competitor for the championship win. The gap is still quite large and manageable, but the Dutchman needs to be put in a position to at least defend himself properly against a resurgent McLaren, which is difficult to catch up with in terms of performance.
Helmut Marko shares this view. The Austrian stressed that to achieve better performances, it is necessary to increase speed and ensure that the car operates in a wider performance window. He explained that even a small deviation from this window caused fluctuations, compromising the car’s balance. Speaking about the development of the RB20 ahead of the Austin round, he expressed confidence: “I assume it will work. The first changes had a positive effect in Singapore; they were the first step.”
Despite the growing disadvantage in the constructors’ championship, with a 41-point gap to McLaren, Marko insisted on the importance of giving their all in the final six rounds, convinced that Max Verstappen will dominate again if Red Bull can provide him with a competitive car. “We need to win on our own again,” he said, emphasizing the need to give Max a car that allows him to showcase his skills. He added that the biggest annoyance for the Dutchman has been the car’s instability, swinging between understeer and oversteer. Finally, Marko concluded by saying that if the team manages to rebalance the RB20, “Max will drive in his class again.”
As for the constructors’ championship, considering that Red Bull often races with only one driver, it seems almost out of reach, but Verstappen likely doesn’t care much. He has already stated several times in recent months that the team needs to react to this negative period and deliver a car capable of winning races. It seems that the next major update will also be the team’s last chance because if things don’t work as expected after Austin, then the championship for Max will become increasingly difficult to win.
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