Max Verstappen Gets Hands On With Engineers as Desperation Mounts at Red Bull

Pranay Bhagi | 31/08/2024
Max Verstappen Gets Hands On With Engineers as Desperation Mounts at Red Bull

With McLaren closing in on Red Bull in the championship, it’s crunch time for the latter. Three-time World Champion Max Verstappen recognizes this and has taken a more hands-on approach to help his team improve.

Verstappen has been complaining about issues with the RB20 for months. He was particularly unhappy with the balance, which caused him to experience understeer on several occasions. During the Hungarian GP weekend, a frustrated Verstappen also lashed out at his team members, urging them to wake up.

De Telegraaf reported that Verstappen sat down on a Zoom call with Red Bull’s engineers and Team Principal Christian Horner to brainstorm solutions. This highlighted the team’s desperation, as Verstappen was not previously known for spending time ideating with the staff.

In the last race at Zandvoort, McLaren’s Lando Norris finished 22 seconds ahead of Verstappen in P2. While Horner insisted they weren’t too worried about the deficit, in reality, Red Bull likely recognized the need to make quick adjustments to regain their advantage.

Things haven’t worked out well for Red Bull at this weekend’s Italian GP either. Both Verstappen and Sergio Perez struggled in Free Practice. However, Chief Advisor Helmut Marko suggested that there was more potential yet to be unlocked.

Red Bull wasn’t running at full power

Verstappen finished FP2 in 14th place, one position ahead of Perez, and knew there was more work needed to make the car competitive. However, Marko revealed that Red Bull had hidden some pace.

“We didn’t bring the engine up to full power,” Marko said in an interview after Friday’s practice. “In the long run, before graining occurred, we were absolutely ahead. So it looks much worse than the case.”

Red Bull had the slowest car on the straight during the FP2 session. Additionally, Verstappen didn’t manage a clean hot lap in FP2, which contributed to his position in the bottom half of the timing sheet.

If Red Bull do manage to find the hidden pace Marko was talking about, they could leave Monza happy.

Post Edited By: Somin Bhattacharjee
Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing

About the author

Avatar photo

Pranay Bhagi

Pranay Bhagi is an F1 Journalist at the Sportsrush. He's been following the sport since 2010 and has been a Sebastian Vettel enthusiant since then. He started his F1 journalism journey two years ago and has written over 1300 articles. As an Aston Martin supporter, he hopes for Fernando Alonso to win the 3rd title. Apart from F1, anything with an engine and wheel intruiges him. In true petrolhead sense, he often travels across the country on his motorcycle.

Don’t miss these