Max Verstappen started out this season very strong, only losing to a brake failure in Australia.
But things started to go in a very wrong direction since McLaren brought in new upgrades since the Miami Grand Prix. McLaren were never in the fight for the championship until Miami.
The new upgrades installed in Miami led to Norris’s first F1 victory
The utter truth?
Probably, also because the avid youngster whose first pole came back at Sochi in 2021, contended with a sense of renewed figure with nothing held back.
But while that was happening for Norris, Verstappen started noticing a decrease in the RB20’s performance.
The new car for 2024 had started having problems in corners and Verstappen complained about the ever-worsening understeer. Its true effect was seen in the Monaco Grand Prix qualifying, where Max tried his best to qualify high but the car just did not respond to his inputs.
Red Bull’s cars have had a problem with riding over kerbs, the cars don’t handle kerb riding very well, resulting in loss of time, but before this season, Red Bull was so dominant that the team could just easily raise the car, resulting in loss of aerodynamic capability, and downforce.
This didn’t prove to be a problem until this season when the team couldn’t risk raising the car (lose downforce) because suddenly the other teams were abreast with them.
Adrian Newey, the aero wizard, the man who gave Red Bull the car to win in 2021, 2022, 2023, has left the team for other prospects.
He was a key figure in the heightened performance of the RB19, RB20, and many other cars used in F1.
Newey announced his departure in early May this year.
Adrian Newey was the Chief Technical Designer at Red Bull, his departure, caused by internal feuds between management, has led to the decrease in the performance of the RB20.
Without him at the helm to oversee upgrades and guide the team in the right direction regarding which parts to upgrade, how to maximize downforce while minimizing drag, et cetera, it seems Red Bull has gone down all the wrong paths.
Last weekend, Max Verstappen was using the floor from the start of the season, while Sergio Perez was using a new revised floor.
Red Bull brought in new upgrades to the RB20 by changing the engine cover, the mirror stays but nothing changed.
At Zandvoort, Max Verstappen lost by a margin of 22 seconds to Lando Norris, who had another upgrade package from McLaren installed in his car.
In qualifying at the Temple of Speed, Monza, Max suffered a loss of grip in Q3 and qualified 7th on the grid with Perez in 8th. Red Bull has since lost its way to what was a near-certain driver’s title in 2024.
Management at Red Bull Racing have been playing a game of “Rock, Paper, Scissors” with Sergio Perez.
Moreover, every time he wins, they let him keep his seat.
Here’s a fact.
‘Checo’ Perez has not shown any great result since the Miami Grand Prix.
As a teammate he has not helped Verstappen at all. Unlike other teams, where teammates help keep other drivers from overtaking or putting pressure from behind, Sergio Perez has not done anything to aid Verstappen in his pursuit for the championship.
Red Bull has so many great drivers under its wing waiting for an opportunity. Instead of extending Sergio’s contract, they could have promoted Yuki Tsunoda from the junior team, as Max’s new teammate.
Yuki has shown great potential this season despite having a midfield car. Yuki has managed to out qualify his own teammate Daniel Ricciardo, multiple times, and has scored major points for the Racing Bulls.
A Predicament for the Dutchman on the cards?
As seen at Monza, even as Max didn’t score a DNF and Norris, his archrival for this season didn’t win, the gap between the Dutchman (still in the lead of the Drivers’ standings) and the Englishman came down further.
From 70, which was at the end of the Dutch Grand Prix, the gap between two championship contenders, one who’s claimed the title thrice and the other, who’s really going for it (for a first) currently stands at 62.
Max Verstappen stands to lose the title fight if Red Bull Racing do not fix one or all of these problems.
The only reason Red Bull is still in the fight is because Max Verstappen is a very talented and skilled driver.
His skill has carried Red Bull and himself over many hurdles.
But now with McLaren with a rampant car, with Mercedes and Ferrari catching up to Red Bull, the Christian Horner-led outfit needs to look at the larger picture.
This, inadvertently means, revising their strategy, working on new upgrades, thinking of the car setup, and more.
Needless to say, they’d have to do that if Max Verstappen wishes to keep his 2024 championship trophy hopes alive.