After a near-flawless 2023 season where Red Bull dominated the grid, winning 21 out of 22 races, the team made the bold choice to radically evolve their car concept for 2024 in a bid to stay ahead of the competition. Max Verstappen, who clinched 19 victories while teammate Sergio Perez took two, seemed untouchable—until now.
While the RB20 initially showed the potential to continue its dominance, a breakthrough upgrade by McLaren for the Miami Grand Prix and a botched upgrade by Red Bull at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix sent shockwaves through the team’s campaign. What seemed like an unstoppable season quickly spiraled into a battle to recover lost ground.
Max Verstappen, speaking to Motorsport.com, admitted that even he was surprised by the team’s struggles at first. “In the beginning, I was surprised as well, but if you look at what our problems were, then I fully understand it,” the Dutchman remarked. “At some point, we have gone in the wrong direction. The other teams have either not faced that particular point yet or developed the car differently.”
Verstappen revealed that warning signs appeared earlier than fans and analysts realized. He noticed an uncharacteristic imbalance in the RB20 early in the season, but their rivals’ initial weaknesses allowed Red Bull to compensate. However, as the races progressed, competitors like McLaren made significant strides, and Red Bull’s troubles became increasingly apparent.
Interestingly, Verstappen refused to blame Red Bull’s radical design changes for their woes, even though the new RB20 featured unconventional sidepods and an altered cooling layout. He insisted, “I don’t think you can tell from the outside what went wrong, so that’s not the point. What the car looks like on the outside is not the issue.” Instead, he pointed to the complex changes in the car’s floor—a problem that’s also plaguing Ferrari’s SF-24 and causing bouncing issues after their upgrade at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Other teams, such as Mercedes, are also struggling to find the right balance, while McLaren has cautiously held off bringing their new floor upgrade, fearing it could destabilize their competitive MCL38. Verstappen highlighted the difficulties teams face under the current regulations, stating that even McLaren, despite their apparent resurgence, is treading carefully with upgrades.
Red Bull’s troubles are further compounded by their outdated wind tunnel, which struggles to provide accurate data for the latest generation of ground-effect cars. Verstappen admitted, “It’s true that we have a fairly old wind tunnel, but until this year it did everything right. Some things are just hard to understand.” He stressed that even teams with state-of-the-art facilities have faced difficulties in correlating wind tunnel data with on-track performance.
After a disastrous Italian Grand Prix—described by team boss Christian Horner as the low point of Red Bull’s season—the team has shown signs of life, making slight improvements in Baku and Singapore. Verstappen expressed optimism, stating, “It felt better. That was already a good step for us. I do think we are moving in the right direction now; it will take some time.”
Despite the setbacks, Verstappen remains atop the drivers’ championship standings, holding a 52-point lead over McLaren’s Lando Norris, who has steadily chipped away at the gap. The battle is far from over, and while Verstappen remains hopeful, he knows the road to regaining their dominance will be anything but easy.
