Red Bull Still Scratching Its Head Over Lost F1 Performance

Saajan Jogia | Oct 12, 2024

May 4, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen (1) during F1 qualifying for Miami Grand Prix at Miami International Autodrome. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-Imagn Images / Peter Casey-Imagn Images

The Red Bull Formula 1 team is still trying to figure out the problem pertaining to the balance of the RB20 F1 car, which changed everything for the team this season. The shift began with Lando Norris’s landmark victory at the Miami Grand Prix, marking McLaren’s rise to dominance.

While McLaren's surge in performance is one factor, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner acknowledged that the RB20 has been grappling with balance issues since the Miami Grand Prix. These problems, he admitted, have persisted through to the recent Singapore Grand Prix, preventing the car from reaching its full potential as a title contender.

Before that, Max Verstappen's triumph in Shanghai marked his fourth victory in the first five races of the season, with commanding 13-second leads in both the sprint and the Grand Prix. Up until that point, the reigning world champion had faced little resistance, showcasing his dominance on the track.

Despite a brake issue that cost him a potential win in Australia, Verstappen and the RB20 seemed untouchable, maintaining a clear edge over the competition. At least on the surface, it appeared that Red Bull's performance was nothing less than superior.

The Miami Grand Prix marked a shift in the season and the current ground effect era, previously dominated by Red Bull in 2022 and 2023. Although Max Verstappen secured a win at Imola, Red Bull's dominance began to fade as McLaren's MCL38 emerged as the new benchmark. The RB20, once synonymous with leading races by over 20-second margins, was overshadowed by McLaren's newfound pace.

Horner, who still seems surprised by how drastically the scene shifted after the Miami Grand Prix, revealed that Red Bull was still trying to find answers to the phenomena. He told Motorsport.com:

“If you were sceptic, you'd say something's changed because we went from winning races as a canter.

“I was getting grief from Stefano [Domenicali] every weekend that the TV figures are dwindling because we're set for another year of Max Verstappen and Red Bull dominance. There was a lot of pressure coming, saying: ‘Stop winning races by 20 seconds!’

“If one was a sceptic and somewhat paranoid, you say something's changed. Because even when we've gone back to the configuration of the car that, for example, we had in China, we still have some of the same issues that we have experienced.

“But, in saying that, it changed for everybody, potentially. But I've never in a season seen a swing so exaggerated. Obviously we have to get on top of that. We have to understand it.”

Horner added that it wasn't until the Italian GP that the team found the alleged source of the problem. He said:

“I think there's some inadequacies in some of the tools that we had and, as we started to push the aerodynamics of these regulations, the correlation between track and car - we've lost that correlation.

“I think it wasn't really until the downforce came off the car at Monza that it really highlighted where the issues were coming from.”