Red Bull Racing is facing significant challenges with its RB20 Formula 1 car, prompting team principal Christian Horner to convene a crisis meeting with top engineers and driver Max Verstappen.
The team is grappling with balance issues that have hindered performance, leaving both drivers struggling on the track.
After a mid-season upgrade that failed to deliver the desired results, Red Bull has found itself in a tough spot.
The upgrades have not only failed to improve the car's handling but have also introduced new complications, leaving the technical team searching for answers.
Verstappen, who last won at the Spanish Grand Prix six races ago, has been dealing with a poor setup and ongoing understeer issues.
His recent performance was highlighted by a disappointing finish at Zandvoort, where he trailed Lando Norris by 23 seconds.
Despite a strong start to the season, with seven wins in the first ten races, Verstappen's results have taken a downturn in recent events.
The situation worsened during the Hungarian Grand Prix, where attempts to rectify the car's balance fell flat.
With McLaren now only 30 points behind in the Constructors' Championship, Horner prioritized addressing these issues through a Zoom meeting with the engineering team.
Speaking about the meeting, former Red Bull driver Robert Doornbos told Ziggo Sport, as quoted by PlanetF1.com :
“You see that when the car performs less, the gap between Max and Perez becomes smaller. That’s crazy.
“That indicates that there is no balance, and the car no longer listens to its talent. It wants more bite at the front, but those engineers have to do that.
“Last week Christian Horner scheduled a Zoom call – because Max could not go to the factory – with the entire top of the engineering and design departments together, to explain that you can look at the data, but you also have to take the feeling of the driver into account.
“Max wants that car to bite at the front. If the rear moves, he will survive with his talent.
“You have two problems. You first have to get the balance right, and then the set-up. Then you fine-tune again, and then you dare more. Now he loses seven kilometers per hour to Lando Norris in the Parabolica alone, that is really a lot.
“They went back to the original floor from Bahrain. That’s race one. They’re now analysing where they made the wrong choice in the races after that. Let’s get started!”
The focus is on analyzing data while also considering driver feedback to improve the car's responsiveness.
The team is reverting to the original floor design from the Bahrain Grand Prix as they reassess their strategy. The aim is to pinpoint where they went wrong in subsequent races and make necessary adjustments.
Verstappen's recent qualifying performance at Monza, where he placed seventh, raised concerns about the car's driveability.
Doornbos added :
“It’s small things. He brakes with commitment for the first corner, but he doesn’t steer all the way from the white line.
“When exiting the corner you can also hear that he had wheelspin. That also indicates that you don’t have the mechanical grip in the car. When braking for the second chicane you want to take those kerbstones, if you have confidence in the car.
“When exiting Ascari, he has to weave through traffic. He tries to catch the slipstream of Sergio Perez. The lap before that, he already had a moment in the Parabolica, so in the second run he doesn’t dare to steer so well.
"Dare is a strong word, he has the knowledge of what the car can and cannot handle. It is Max’s worst qualifying in 2024.
“Qualifying is one thing, but if you don’t have a good qualifying car, you often don’t have a good race car either, because then the car eats the tyres. So the expectation of the race are not rosy.”
The team is aware that a poor qualifying position often leads to challenges during the race, particularly regarding tire management. As Red Bull works to regain its competitive edge, the upcoming races will be critical for both the team and its drivers.
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