Метка: Red Bull Racing

Newey claims Verstappen has been unfairly demonised

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Max Verstappen is not fully appreciated by outsiders and has been unfairly demonised by ‘nationalistic’ Formula 1 television coverage by Sky, reckons design legend Adrian Newey.

In a wide-ranging interview with Jake Humphrey’s popular High Performance podcast reflecting on his time at Red Bull, Newey offered some fascinating insights into Verstappen’s character.

He also opened up on some interesting reflections on the controversial 2021 championship where he suggested that the Dutchman’s antics at that year’s Brazilian Grand Prix were out of order.

In one section of the interview, he made reference to how he feels Verstappen has not been portrayed in the right way by television coverage – an element he also felt was true of the way Sebastian Vettel was treated when winning for Red Bull.

“From the outside, I’m not sure people fully appreciate and understand Max, just like they didn’t with Sebastian,” said Newey. “There’s this sort of demonisation both of them suffered at times, which is very unfair.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, is interviewed after the race

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, is interviewed after the race

Photo by: Jake Grant / Motorsport Images

“And maybe that’s also a little bit of the British media, if I’m honest. Sky have a huge influence around the world. Although viewing isn’t truly international, their coverage is quite nationalistic, dare I say, and that can have an influence.

“It’s this thing that now with journalism, typically… there is that trend to sort of either put people on a pedestal or knock them down.”

Newey says Verstappen consistently performs at a level that very few in F1 can match, but he admits that the pressures of that infamous 2021 championship battle with Lewis Hamilton did show signs of him potentially feeling the heat.

Asked if Verstappen had ever cracked under pressure, Newey said: “A little bit perhaps in his championship of ‘21 where the intensity, particularly after Silverstone, on track between Lewis and Max became so intense.

He added: “It’s always easier for the hunter than the hunted and Max was starting, I think, to just feel a little bit of pressure from the hunted, hence that he was, in reality, probably lucky not to get a penalty from his driving in Brazil.

«The Saudi [clash], where they had a bit of a ding-dong, that was a little bit more… I think that was not clear. But Max was probably a bit out of order in Brazil in truth, so I think he was feeling it a bit.”

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB16B, battles with Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W12

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB16B, battles with Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W12

Photo by: Charles Coates / Motorsport Images

Abu Dhabi fallout

The 2021 season finale in Abu Dhabi remains one of F1’s most controversial races, with the FIA’s mishandling of a safety car restart influencing the outcome of the world championship.

But despite the huge fallout of how events helped Verstappen snatch the title from Hamilton’s grasp on the final lap, Newey says that the Dutchman never had much trouble dealing with the post-event drama.

“I think, honestly, Max is so self-assured,” he said. “This is in a positive way. It’s not in a negative way.

“There’s arrogance and there is self-assured. Max is not arrogant, but he is very self-assured and self-confident, and he’s a deep thinker.

“But he doesn’t let things like that, I don’t think – they don’t really get to him. He’s able to shut that off and just get on with his job and get on with his task and do what he loves doing, which is driving racing cars.”

Asked if the events had got to him, Newey replied: “No. Actually, I think it got to Mercedes. Instead of saying okay, well, accepting it and moving on, it started to affect their psyche, which is an interesting one. That’s from the outside, and I might be completely wrong.

“They just couldn’t let it go. Psychologically, they couldn’t let it go.”

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 2nd position, congratulates Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 1st position, in Parc Ferme

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 2nd position, congratulates Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 1st position, in Parc Ferme

Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images

Verstappen strengths

Talking about what he felt people had wrong about Verstappen, Newey said: “I think that he’s very intelligent, and he’s got an incredible ability to… it almost feels as if he can drive the car automatically.

“He doesn’t, of course, but he can drive the car and has so much processing power left over that he can then think a lot about how he’s driving the car, how he’s looking after the tyres, what he might need to do on the settings – or if he doesn’t, if he’s not sure, ask GP [race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase] on the radio what he should be doing, but highlighting the problems.”



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Two Mercedes collisions behind Verstappen’s Hamilton penalty call in Italian GP

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Max Verstappen and the two Mercedes drivers were involved in separate collisions as Formula 1’s 2024 Italian Grand Prix commenced, which explained the Red Bull driver’s call for a Lewis Hamilton penalty.

Verstappen had started seventh and behind the Mercedes pair on Sunday, with George Russell in the lead W15 actually lining up third and in a position to race the early leading McLarens and eventually winning Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.

But Russell “just got caught out by Oscar [Piastri’s] braking point” at the first corner and locked up, then took to the escape road, from which he rejoined in the orbit of Hamilton (who had also had a brief collision with Carlos Sainz on the run to Turn 1) and Verstappen powering through the Curva Grande.

As they both shot past Russell, an analysis of the various onboard footage shows how Verstappen got a run on Hamilton and edged his nose alongside the Mercedes’ right-rear through the braking phase, when Hamilton drifted slightly right as the della Roggia chicane’s first apex approached.

Verstappen was squeezed on the outside line and the pair made light contact as they turned in.

Hamilton quickly said “I’ve been hit, by Max… right-rear”, while Verstappen complained “Lewis didn’t leave a car’s width” and later added “I got a penalty for that, so…”.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Before this, Verstappen’s momentary momentum stall meant and Russell’s better line through the first apex meant the latter’s front wheels got to level with the former’s rears, and as they traversed the second apex’s exit the Mercedes was pinched even as Russell braked with the space closing.

Verstappen’s left-rear then knocked off Russell’s right-side endplate, with the Briton only immediately then saying “Piastri just came across me in the braking zone” before asking Mercedes’ to check his damaged front wing as the first lap ended.

“I think the front wing is off,” he added.

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Verstappen asked Red Bull to “check my left-rear tyre cause I touched a little bit I think” but was given the all-clear to continue, as Hamilton had also been.

Russell, however, “lost a huge amount of performance” due to his damage in the opening stint where he was dropped by Verstappen and then passed by Sergio Perez in the other RB20 before pitting to replace his front wing.

Russell ultimately recovered to beat Perez, but wound up 1.8s behind Verstappen at the race’s end, with Hamilton 15.1s further ahead – the trio having all completed two-stoppers along with the defeated McLaren cars further ahead.

When asked if he was happy with Hamilton’s driving post-race, Verstappen replied: “Probably lap one, you’re focusing on the cars ahead, not looking in the mirrors as well.”

“That’s my only explanation,” he added of an incident that was not shown during the race’s live broadcast due to the need to cover the intra-McLaren fight ahead at the della Roggia on lap one, then the series of collisions in the early laps involving Haas’s Nico Hulkenberg and the RB drivers.

Afterwards, Mercedes’ director of trackside engineering, Andrew Shovlin, reflected on how Russell’s damage in the second Verstappen collision of the Silver Arrows squad’s Monza race “led to an early and long stop”.

He continued: “We could have potentially gained a place on Verstappen if we had committed to the one-stop but ultimately the opening lap damage was the bigger cost.”



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Red Bull trapped in “vicious circle” with RB20 problems

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says his drivers are trapped in a “vicious circle” with the balance problems of their RB20 Formula 1 car.

World championship leader Max Verstappen fears that he is now going to lose this year’s title as a result of Red Bull’s difficulties with its 2024 F1 challenger.

After finishing a lowly sixth in the Italian GP, Verstappen said that development directions taken by the team over the past 12 months had triggered a downturn in form.

“Last year we had a great car, which was the most dominant car ever, and we basically turned it into a monster,” he said, after claiming it was unrealistic to think he could now maintain his title lead.

Horner has opened up on the difficulties that his squad is facing, and explained that curing problems in one area of the car only serves to open up issues in another.

“We’ve got a disconnection in balance that just isn’t working,” he revealed.

“As soon as you end up in that situation, you’re harder on tyres. You then end up compensating, you move the balance around, you secure one problem and you create another. So you just end up in a vicious circle.”

While Red Bull was alone in not running a Monza-specific low-dowforce wing last weekend, Horner says that was not really a big factor in why it struggled so much.

Christian Horner, Team Principal, Red Bull Racing

Christian Horner, Team Principal, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

“I think it’s more balance,” he said. “100% it is balance. We haven’t got a connection between front and rear.

“I think Max can’t lean on the rear on the way into the corner, or Checo. And you then end up compensating for that. Then you create understeer. And it’s on such a fine line.

“You can see it in qualifying. On a scrubbed tyre with a balance, we could do a 19.6 that matched the best times.

“Then we put two new sets of tyres on, the balance is then completely out, and we go four and a half tenths slower.”

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Red Bull has spent the last two weekends in Zandvoort and Monza trying to understand what has gone wrong with its car, which has included experiments with its floor, but still does not have clear answers.

But with title rival McLaren now appearing competitive on all types of tracks – even venues it was not quick at 12 months ago – Horner concedes that pressure is mounting on Red Bull to find a quick fix.

“With the pace that we had [in Italy], both championships absolutely will be under pressure for sure,” he said.

“We have to turn the situation around very quickly. I think this circuit has exposed the deficiencies that we have in the car versus last year.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

“We have a very clear issue, which has been highlighted this weekend, that we know we have to get on top of and address, as otherwise we put ourselves under massive pressure.”

But with development lead times so long in F1, time is of the essence for Red Bull if the team is not to risk McLaren and Lando Norris slashing the deficits they have in the constructors’ and drivers’ championships.

“I think the most important thing is understanding the issue,” added Horner. “And then I think there are certain fixes that potentially can be introduced.

“They will perhaps not resolve the whole issue, but address some of it.

“We’ve now got a two-week period before Baku and Singapore, and then we have another mini-break where we can work between Singapore and Austin. Time now is crucial.”

Watch: What went wrong for McLaren at Monza? — Italian GP Debrief



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Verstappen «never experienced something like» Monza qualifying balance swing

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Red Bull’s Max Verstappen says he has never experienced the dramatic balance swing he suffered in Monza qualifying that saw him go significantly slower in Q3.

Verstappen could only manage seventh in qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix, nearly seven-tenths behind McLaren’s polesitter Lando Norris, as wild car balance swings made the three-time champion four-tenths slower than he was in Q2 despite using newer tyres.

The Dutchman and team-mate Sergio Perez, who qualified alongside him in eighth, have been struggling with balance problems on their RB20 since May’s Miami round, but with rival teams catching up in the development race Red Bull now no longer has the pace in hand to cover them up.

«For whatever reason in Q3 I picked up a lot of understeer on both tyre sets and this is something that I don’t understand at the moment,» said Verstappen.

«It was just not drivable anymore. I couldn’t attack any corner, so that’s something that is very weird.

«I mean, going four-tenths slower than what you did in Q2 is not normal. The balance difference that I had in Q3 was very weird. Never experienced something like that before.»

Red Bull had looked competitive as late as Q2, and its race pace on Friday also looked more promising and on par with its competitors, with the team known to usually run very conservative engine modes in Friday practice.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images

But Verstappen cautioned that his car’s puzzling balance limitations are also set to impact tyre wear, which could limit his options to progress on Sunday.

When asked if he can still get in the hunt for victory, he replied: «Normally not. The whole weekend already we were too slow.

«The long runs might look good on paper but it didn’t really feel like that personally. The problem is that when you don’t have a balanced car, of course in the race that is also quite painful on tyres.

«So let’s see. Maybe with how the car is at the moment it might be a little bit better for the race but we’re also starting in the back of the top group.

«We’ll just have to wait and see what happens in front of us. There are a few unknowns with the graining naturally as well. We’ll find out tomorrow.»

Perez felt that Red Bull’s lack of a specific Monza rear wing also hurt the team «more than we thought».

«This connection in the balance that we’re currently facing is the main issue,» he said. «We can get some competitive laps at times, but it’s very difficult to have any progression.

«I think not having a Monza wing as well has hurt us, probably more than we thought in the beginning.»

Not only are the mid-corner balance shifts robbing Red Bull’s drivers of confidence in the car, but the car displaying two different but interconnected traits in the same corner is an indication of why Red Bull appears to be struggling to find a solution.

Dialling out understeer or oversteer on its own is one thing, but when both occur in the same corner, trying to fix one part of the problem will likely just make the second part worse.

«You have two different balances; one from corner entry and one through the apex, so you cannot fix it,» the Mexican explained. «You cannot go in one direction because you have both.

«I think we understand the issue. It’s just how to fix it. Because at the moment we are pretty stuck and it’s really hard to move forward from here.»



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Red Bull to continue “Franken-floor” experiments at Italian GP

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Red Bull plans to continue experiments with a hybrid version of its old floor at Formula 1’s Italian Grand Prix.

As the world champion squad seeks to answer why its RB20 has lost competitiveness compared to closest rivals McLaren and Mercedes, it has been evaluating whether the upgraded floor it introduced at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in May was the trigger for its problems.

In a bid to get to the bottom of matters, it fitted Max Verstappen’s car with an alternative floor version at last weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix.

This was based on the pre-Imola design that had won four of the first five races of the season.

However, it also incorporated elements of design improvements that have been introduced since then that the team knows definitely work.

The mish-mash of old and new elements has led to this version being informally described by one insider as a ‘Franken-floor’ – in reference to Frankenstein’s monster that was made up from different body parts.

Verstappen raced with this design at the Dutch Grand Prix but mixed weather conditions throughout the weekend meant it difficult to get a proper gauge on how it performed relative to the newer version that was run by Sergio Perez.

Red Bull plans again to split the configurations at Monza in a bid to get a better understanding of whether the new floor is the real cause of the RB20’s balance issues.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20, Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20, Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38

Photo by: Alastair Staley / Motorsport Images

Speaking about the team’s understanding of the situation, Verstappen said: “The problem is that in Zandvoort with the wind and the rain it was very difficult to get a bit of a read.

“But again, [it is] a different weekend now. Of course, besides the stuff that we want to try in the car, the track is quite different. So, we also need to keep track on that to make the right calls.

“But yeah, we’re trying a lot of stuff to try and improve the balance of the car.”

While Red Bull’s experiments are aimed at getting answers on the balance differences between the old and new floor, Verstappen has no doubts that the latest version is faster.

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Asked how he felt Red Bull would fare if it went back to the specification that he dominated the Chinese Grand Prix with, the Dutchman said: “I don’t think it will be faster, just that other teams, of course, they have been upgrading the car really well.

“So, for us to, let’s say, downgrading the car for a better balance, it’s not necessarily faster.”

Verstappen said that the critical improvement that was needed was getting the car back in a better balance window.

“I mean we know the balance problems, and now it’s up to us to try and make the cars just better to drive and more competitive,” he added.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

“I think we are understanding where we need to find stuff and what we see in the wind tunnel, what we see from CFD. That is not the problem.”

The Newey factor

Red Bull’s fall from form has coincided with the news that design genius Adrian Newey will be leaving the team at the start of next year.

Although he officially remains part of the operation, Newey has been removed from technical input – which some have suggested could be linked to the performance problems.

Asked if there was any link between the struggles and Newey’s exit, Verstappen said: “Normally not. It’s just since it was announced that he was leaving, it’s been more difficult.

“But I mean it shouldn’t matter if someone is, let’s say, leaving on the spot, that immediately the performance drops because the car has always been the same.”

Watch: Why Drivers are Unimpressed with Monza’s Updates — News from F1’s Italian GP Paddock



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How Red Bull is still improving its RB20 despite upgrade doubts

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Max Verstappen’s suspicion that something has “gone wrong” with Red Bull’s RB20 explains why the Formula 1 team was experimenting with some older specification parts at Zandvoort last weekend.

In an attempt to get to the bottom of what has made its 2024 challenger “more difficult to drive”, Verstappen and team-mate Sergio Perez split floor configurations in a bid to help the squad gather data.

But, while efforts are focusing on understanding if the major floor change made at Imola was the trigger for its recent struggles against McLaren and Mercedes, that has not stopped it continuing to try to eke out gains from other areas of the car.

Red Bull arrived at Zandvoort with a number of small tweaks for the RB20, as the high-downforce sidepod and engine cover arrangement introduced at the Hungarian Grand Prix returned – having been taken off for high-speed Spa.

There was a slight tweak, though, with the team having modified the size of the rear cooling outlet to better serve the demands of the Zandvoort circuit. 

This narrower arrangement will provide additional versatility in its cooling set-up over the coming races, with the team also able to swap the cooling panels on the side of the engine cover to better suit its requirements too. 

The new inlet is similarly sized to the one used with its other engine cover arrangement, but the change in bodywork also results in the outlets that were cut into the rear quarter panel being removed.

In addition, there were also a new set of mirror stays and fins around the cockpit on the RB20, as the team looks to make some small tweaks to the airflow’s behaviour as it tracks down the car.

This was likely in response to the arrival of the new sidepod and engine cover bodywork first seen in Hungary and used again at Zandvoort. 

Red Bull RB20 mirror comparison

Red Bull RB20 mirror comparison

Photo by: Uncredited

There are several differences to the arrangement too, with the horizontal mirror stay no longer merged directly to the mirror housing (white arrow), which has also been modified to suit the vertical baffle that now resides between the two surfaces and likely sheds a stronger vortex downstream over the sidepod.

The outer vertical stay has also been modified (red arrow), with a shorter arrangement taking the place of the tail-like solution previously employed, which will alter how the airflow around the sidepod’s shoulder region behaves.

Meanwhile, the canard-style winglet mounted on the side of the halo has been deleted and a vertical fin now resides atop the half-crescent upper sidepod inlet (blue arrow).

The winglet is kinked in the upper half in order to suit the contours of the halo fairing alongside too.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20
Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB20

The drivers also opted to run different downforce levels on their cars at Zandvoort, with Verstappen opting for the higher-downforce rear wing configuration, like he had run in Hungary.

Perez, however, opted for less downforce, similar to how they ran both cars at Spa.

Haas VF-24 front wing comparison

Haas VF-24 front wing comparison

Photo by: Uncredited

New front wing at Haas

Haas had a number of new components for the VF-24 at the Dutch Grand Prix as it looks to improve flow at the front of the car in order to unlock more performance further downstream.

The new parts were only raced by Nico Hulkenberg, but it was a scrappy weekend for the team with incidents and mixed weather that made it difficult to gather much feedback.

In making the change, Haas has taken an holistic overview to the car’s front end aerodynamics.

The nose, front wing and front suspension fairings have all been altered in tandem to leverage the performance that can be garnered from one another.

The nose has now been extended to meet with the mainplane, rather than the second element, with the tip shape tweaked.

There is also a more rounded profile selected in order that it works more harmoniously with the central section of the wing.

This in turn has allowed the team to alter the flap distribution, with narrower static inboard upper flaps beside the nose.

This allows for wider moveable sections, both of which have less chord height than their counterparts and more curvature across their span.

The slot gap separator brackets have also been reconfigured across the entire wing, with less needed between the mainplane and second element due to the nose now being connected to them.

Furthermore, the aerodynamically shaped brackets usually found between the upper two elements have been exchanged for more traditionally shaped horseshoe-style brackets.

The type of changes Haas has made with these updates are incredibly important with this generation of cars, as explained by principal aerodynamicist Simone Benelli.

“The main topic, on the inboard side, is to try and improve the flow quality for the front flow intake and the sidepod undercut, because there’s nothing under the chassis,” he said.

“Everything you create in terms of loss close to the front wing is free to travel without much control. So you have to control it upstream with the front wing. 

“Then, outboard, we are continuing with our development, which is constantly trying to improve the bottom tail wake. It is this which is responsible for some inconsistency in certain cases on front load, in low speed, medium speed, and crosswinds in general.”

Additional reporting by Jonathan Noble

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How Verstappen and Red Bull are responding to being second best

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For the first time since his home race joined the Formula 1 calendar in 2021, Max Verstappen wasn’t the man to beat in Zandvoort.

Verstappen was soundly beaten by McLaren’s Lando Norris in qualifying at the Dutch Grand Prix — to the tune of three tenths — and while another stuttering start cost Norris the lead on race day, he soon swept past and sailed off into the distance, defeating Verstappen by 22.9 seconds.

McLaren being on top is nothing new, as it mainly stopped itself from picking up more than its two wins before the summer break in Miami and Budapest, rather than its rivals getting in the way.

But the margin of Norris’ emphatic victory, in the Dutch lion’s den nonetheless, is poignant as an otherwise comfortable gap of 70 points in the drivers’ standings suddenly doesn’t sound so cushiony anymore.

What was once seen as a blip, an unfortunately timed run of bumpier circuits like Miami and Monaco that punished an inherent Red Bull weakness, has since carried over on circuits where Red Bull used to be dominant too.

But while few expected Norris to mount a credible title bid earlier in the season, this is the exact scenario Verstappen had been vocally warning about for months as Red Bull struggled to eke much more performance out of the RB20’s car concept.

From Miami onwards, Verstappen — never one to mince his words — had been urging the team both in public and in private to get its act together.

Christian Horner, Team Principal, Red Bull Racing, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Christian Horner, Team Principal, Red Bull Racing, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Speaking in Austria two months ago, Verstappen said: «In general everybody has come closer, I think we just have to be honest about that. We could say: ‘Yes, it’s normal’. I don’t think it’s normal. We always want to be better, and that’s why I bring that up.

«I could also say: ‘Yes, we won [in Spain], so it’s fine.’ But I don’t look at it that way. We do have to keep working hard. If we think this is normal, people are going to overtake us.»

That has now happened, with McLaren adding to its game-changing Miami upgrades with another package in the Netherlands that has also appeared to hit the mark and improved its aerodynamic efficiency.

Meanwhile, Red Bull has had to roll back some of its Hungary updates, with technical director Pierre Wache conceding to Autosport that it may have hit the ceiling of where it can take this year’s car.

Is anger making way for acceptance?

In Budapest, Verstappen was particularly irate and frustrated when Red Bull’s long-awaited upgrades didn’t provide the gains expected and launched a tirade on the team radio against his race engineer over the strategy he was put on, with Verstappen and Gianpiero Lambiase clearing the air a week later in Spa.

But while natural-born winner Verstappen could have been expected to be equally upset at losing his win streak in front of Zandvoort’s orange-clad grandstands, the difference with McLaren was such that anger appeared to make way for acceptance as there was nothing Red Bull could have thrown at Norris to stop him, not even taking the lead at the start.

After reporting the car «doesn’t respond to my inputs», Verstappen was powerless to keep Norris behind and soon switched to management mode, ensuring he would at least finish second rather than try and force the issue to keep Norris under any semblance of pressure.

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, passes Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, passes Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

«There was nothing that I could do, so once he passed, I just focused on doing my race, tried to bring it to the end in second,» Verstappen said, who re-iterated that McLaren’s big advantage doesn’t come out of nowhere.

«I think this weekend was just a bad weekend in general, so we need to understand that. But the last few races already haven’t really been fantastic. So that, I think in a sense, was already a bit alarming.

«But we know that we don’t need to panic. We are just trying to improve the situation. And that’s what we are working on. But F1 is very complicated.»

Christian Horner gave his view on Verstappen’s even-keeled demeanour: «I think he accepted it. He knew that Lando just had a quicker car today and actually saw that from Friday. So I think he drove a very mature race where he wanted to ensure that, OK, he was conceding seven points to Lando, but he didn’t want to concede more than that.

«You’ve got to drive with the championship in mind. And there’s been seven different race winners this year. So, if you can’t win, then you’ve got to be scoring the points.»

It feels like Verstappen has already made his point to Red Bull often enough, and is now just getting on with making the most of what he has to safeguard his fourth world championship.

What Red Bull can do to turn things around

So what can Red Bull actually do to turn the ship around, or at least ensure it stands a fighting chance to defend its slender 30-point lead in the constructors’ championship? And how worried should it be by Zandvoort’s monstrous gap with circuits like its 2023 Achilles heel Singapore coming up?

There are a few factors that have made the 22-second deficit larger than it really should have been, with Red Bull admitting it had gambled on a higher downforce strategy which failed to pay off in the race, having had limited dry running in practice.

Not only did it make Verstappen a sitting duck on the straight against Norris, but it also overcompensated in pure lap time to protect against a level of tyre degradation that turned out to be lower than expected.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Horner also pointed out that Perez’s newer floor package, compared to an older version run by Verstappen, «got the better of the two», meaning the Dutchman’s car was already leaving lap time on the table.

But that doesn’t sugarcoat the reality it is in, with no silver bullet to provide an immediate fix even if Red Bull’s split package approach yielded more answers to Verstappen’s persistent questions over his RB20’s compromised car balance.

«Obviously, it’s not nice to be beaten by 22 seconds, but it just shows when you get things right in your car in the window, as we saw earlier in the year, that kind of result is possible,» Horner said.

«It doesn’t scare us in any way. It just focuses the mind that we need to turn this around, we need to get it right.

«The pressure is on us to respond and we’re used to being in championship fights over the years. We’ll dig deep and we’re going to fight with everything we’ve got over the remaining nine races.»

Watch: F1 Dutch GP — The Title Fight Comes Alive



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No need for Red Bull to panic despite «issue»

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Red Bull boss Christian Horner has insisted his team knows it has «an issue» and needs to improve to fend off the McLaren threat.

The reigning world championship-winning team holds a lead of 30 points in the constructors’ standings, while Max Verstappen heads Lando Norris by 70 points in the drivers’ championship.

However, the Milton Keynes squad is now without a win in five rounds and Verstappen has conceded its form is «alarming» after McLaren’s Lando Norris won the Dutch Grand Prix by over 20 seconds.

Speaking in the post-race press conference at Zandvoort, Verstappen said: «This weekend was just a bad weekend in general, so we need to understand that. But the last few races, they haven’t really been fantastic so that, in a sense, was already a bit alarming.

«We know that we don’t need to panic. We are just trying to improve the situation. And that’s what we are working on. But F1 is very complicated.»

Verstappen’s order not to panic was echoed by Horner, who pointed to the lack of McLaren success across the season so far.

«Based on performance, if it was like that at the next nine races, yes, it would be very, very difficult,» said Horner.

«But it’s the fourth time this year, only the fourth time, that Max’s points lead had reduced. It’s only Lando’s second win.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20, Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL38

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20, Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL38

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

«But we know we have to find performance. So we were 78 points, now we’re 70 ahead. We want to make sure that we extend the lead, not see it continuously diminish.

«Obviously they made a step a little while ago and their car here particularly with Lando was very impressive. So, we need to understand where and address our deficit.»

Horner also explained that McLaren’s improvement, coupled with his team’s dip in form, showed the nature of Formula 1 and how quickly the tables can turn.

He added: «Well, it just shows that things have moved very quickly. I mean, we were winning races by 20, 25 seconds and Stefano [Domenicali, F1 CEO] was asking us to slow down in the first five races.

«It can change very quickly and that means it can change back the other way as well. 

«We know we’ve got an issue. You can hear that Max didn’t feel that the car was responding to what he wanted. We’ve obviously got to be able to manifest that into a setup that works these tyres across all conditions.

«McLaren did that with Lando. We weren’t able to, but we limited the damage by ‘if you can’t win it, finish second’.»

Additional reporting by Ronald Vording and Erwin Jaeggi



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Red Bull’s tech organisation «didn’t change» after Newey’s departure

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Red Bull technical director Pierre Wache says the team’s organisation hasn’t changed following Adrian Newey’s withdrawal from all Formula 1 technical matters.

Newey has still been seen on the team’s pit wall as a strategist and has focused on his RB17 hypercar project in recent months, but his days of consulting the Milton Keynes team on its car designs have been over for several months now.

PLUS: Adrian Newey explains his last Red Bull «work of art»

The news of the talismanic designer deciding to leave the team was perceived as a huge blow, and an equally big coup for whichever outfit is able to land him next, with Aston Martin believed to be in pole position to snap him up in 2025.

Speaking to Autosport, the team’s technical director Wache has outlined what has changed at Red Bull and how the squad had already prepared for life beyond Newey.

«Clearly the feedback and advice from Adrian were very beneficial for us,» Wache said.

«I don’t want to dismiss what he did for the team and what he did for myself personally. He is a massively experienced person, very smart and very successful.

«However, now we are where we are. Our daily job didn’t change fundamentally besides that we don’t have anyone looking over our shoulder anymore and saying: ‘Hey guys, did you think about this or that?’

«Fundamentally it doesn’t change what we are doing.»

Pierre Wache, Chief Engineer of Performance Engineering at Red Bull Racing

Pierre Wache, Chief Engineer of Performance Engineering at Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

When asked how big Newey’s input was on this year’s RB20, Wache said: «I think it was less than before, but he was still involved and part of the team in his position for the RB20.

«But you’re a team, so you don’t count who is doing what exactly. You move as a group towards something, towards a common goal.»

The Frenchman explained Red Bull had already been preparing for life without the 65-year-old, putting in place a team with strong technical leaders like head of aerodynamics Enrico Balbo and head of performance engineering Ben Waterhouse, both of whom signed new contracts earlier this year.

«The organisation didn’t change because we were already organised to be able to deal without his input, because it has happened in the past that he was a bit less present at some times than at other times,» Wache pointed out.

«The main aspect is [that his input is] not there anymore, but the organisation didn’t change and you just have to deal without his input.

«We organise ourselves with a full technical team to cope and to look forward, not to look backwards.

«I speak for myself now. The main thing is that you should never think that you are perfect. You try to employ people around you to compensate for your weakness, that’s how it should be.

«I hope and it’s what I see that all the people below me are better than me in some aspects, to compensate for what I am not able to do myself.

«We are a group and a bond, everyone has their strengths and being able to work together is the most important aspect. A group with one individual doing everything doesn’t exist, it’s about all individuals that work together.»

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