Red Bull’s dominance in Formula 1 has been thrown into question, with Helmut Marko, the team’s advisor, openly admitting that the team has “taken a wrong turn somewhere” in the development of its 2024 car, the RB20, which he described as “a bitch” to drive.
The season started strong for Red Bull, with four wins in the first five races and three 1-2 finishes. However, the once untouchable lead has dwindled as the competition has caught up. McLaren has notably closed the gap to just 42 points in the Constructors’ Championship, and Sergio Perez’s performance has plummeted, with the Mexican driver scoring a mere 28 points in the last eight races.
Max Verstappen, despite leading the Drivers’ Championship, has also felt the strain, admitting that he’s been forced to drive on the edge in recent races. Marko revealed that the team’s upgrades have backfired, leading to a car with a much narrower operating window, making it difficult to balance and set up.
“At the start of the season, we had a car that was as balanced as McLaren is now,” Marko told Auto Motor und Sport. “It could handle all tracks and all conditions. Then we took a wrong turn somewhere. The car has become a bitch that only Max can tame.”
Marko further elaborated on the challenges, comparing Red Bull’s situation to that of Mercedes earlier this season, where the car’s performance fluctuated drastically depending on conditions. He highlighted Verstappen’s impressive pole laps in Austria and Belgium, noting that while qualifying pace was there, race performance was inconsistent.
“Like Mercedes at the beginning of the year, we are sometimes fast and sometimes slow depending on the conditions,” Marko explained. “Sometimes even in the same race as in Silverstone, where it rained in between.”
Despite the setbacks, Marko remains confident that Verstappen could have achieved better results if not for a series of unfortunate events, including a botched pit stop in Austria, a collision with Lewis Hamilton in Hungary, and a grid penalty in Spa.
“We are better than our last results,” Marko argued. “Without the bad pit stop in Spielberg, the collision with Hamilton in Hungary, and the grid penalty in Spa, Max would be in a better position.”
As Red Bull heads into the second half of the season, the team faces the challenge of regaining its form and correcting the course of its RB20 development to fend off the competition and secure another championship.
Photo from Max Verstappen Instagram
