2024 Woes: Red Bull Struggles with Unseen Issues

In 2024, Red Bull faces mysterious setbacks, baffling the team as logical solutions falter.

Red Bull remains in the dark about its ongoing and worsening slump in Formula 1.

Championship leader Max Verstappen experienced a better weekend at Monza compared to the slower, more twisting Zandvoort circuit a week ago… until Q3 at the Italian GP on Saturday.

“Incomprehensible,” stated Dr. Helmut Marko, referring to how Verstappen was suddenly slower with new tyres in the crucial qualifying phase.

“There is something that is not logically working. Thankfully, it’s Monza, where overtaking is possible. I don’t think anyone will get away. Not even the two McLarens, unless they manage an excellent slipstream and do not fight among themselves. But if we again lack speed in the race, as in the previous one, then the situation will be very serious.”

To explain the poor handling of his 2024 car, Verstappen said the car “simply did not want to turn properly. Not at the first corner, nor at the fourth, the sixth, or the seventh. It’s either understeer or oversteer. Actually, a bit of both.”

Like Marko, he agreed that slowing down with new tyres was “bizarre,” adding: “The long stint wasn’t great either, so we’ll see. But now, we are at the back of the pack.”

Verstappen and Perez both stated on Thursday that Red Bull had begun to understand the problems, even reverting to the original flat bottom from Bahrain.

But Verstappen admitted on Saturday: “We have never found the problem.”

Despite his 70-point lead over McLaren’s Lando Norris, Verstappen’s fourth consecutive drivers’ championship title appears increasingly at risk. Indeed, if Norris wins this Sunday and Verstappen finishes only seventh, the gap will shrink by 19 points—or even 20 if the McLaren sets the fastest lap.

“We must face the truth: our car is no longer what it was at the beginning of the season. The engineers need to pinpoint where we took the wrong turn,” said Marko.

“It’s not easy because numerous development stages have been passed since the beginning and we still have no idea what is responsible for this or that reaction of the car.”

Could the front wing be a clue?

Red Bull might be on the verge of following the current front wing concept of McLaren and Mercedes.

“The front wing of McLaren and Mercedes needs to be analyzed,” admits Marko.

“Everyone wants to know the secret behind McLaren’s development dynamics. If you succeed with a lot of downforce and little drag, as at Zandvoort and now at Monza, and you are good at managing tyres everywhere, then they will be collecting big trophies for the rest of the season.”

However, Marko does not believe that Newey’s announced departure approaching the Miami GP is the cause of the problems Red Bull is currently facing. Nevertheless, he could have helped resolve the situation…

“Newey is no longer fully involved at Red Bull. He remains focused on his hypercar but has had no connection with F1 for several months. That’s a factor we must consider, but we have a broad base of engineers. It’s true that his experience and knowledge would certainly have been helpful in this situation.”