F1 News: Max Verstappen's 2024 Title Hope Rests On Red Bull's Biggest Upgrade In Hungary

Saajan Jogia | Jul 19, 2024

Jun 7, 2024; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen (NED) in the pit lane during the practice session at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports / Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports

Max Verstappen has revealed that Red Bull will introduce its biggest upgrade package of the season at the Hungarian Grand Prix. This move aims to give him a greater edge in the 2024 championship, especially when rival teams such as Mercedes and McLaren are making substantial strides in their performances.

Red Bull kicked off the current season with a bang, with Verstappen continuing his dominant streak. However, the dynamics began to shift a few weeks later when Ferrari emerged as a front-runner. But, the Maranello-based team's attempt to boost performance with a new upgrade backfired, further upsetting the car's balance and effectiveness.

By that time, McLaren's MCL38 had caught up with Red Bull's RB20, often proving to be faster. Mercedes also made a strong comeback, securing double victories in Austria and Silverstone. Verstappen believes that the Hungarian Grand Prix upgrades could be Red Bull's final opportunity to secure the 2024 championship with ease.

Despite Red Bull and Verstappen maintaining their lead in both championships by a decent margin, an upgrade is crucial for the team to remain unchallenged. When the Dutchman was asked if the Hungaroring upgrade was important for the team to maintain its lead in the coming months, he told the media:

"You could say that, yes. I think so.

"If this is not giving us some good lap time, then I don't know how the rest of the season is going to evolve.

"But at the same time, I also don't know what's coming from the other teams, right? So we just focus on ourselves.

"We are bringing quite some things to the car. It is a bit bigger than what we have brought already. And of course, I hope that will give us a bit of lap time."

Being realistic, Verstappen explained that the upgrade may not be a game changer, but it is expected to offer some boost. He added:

"Over the last few races we have not had the quickest car.

"So, I don't expect that to suddenly be any different. Hopefully, the upgrades will give us a good boost, but at the moment I just want to see how that will all work this weekend."

With rival teams catching up rapidly, the three-time world champion concedes that despite Red Bull working hard on its title contender, there isn't much time available. He said:

"If you look at it realistically other teams have made bigger steps, that's very clear.

"I know that my team is pushing as hard as they can to find performance. These cars are just very complicated and some bits might be also just in the set-up itself.

"At the same time, we need to find more performance. As the leading team you have less time, also in the wind tunnel [but] I'm not using that as an excuse, because I don't want to think like that.

"But the reality is that we have less time and we try to do the best we can."