Days after losing to Lando Norris at his home race, the Dutch GP, Max Verstappen admitted that Red Bull’s performance wasn’t under his control and that he was doing his best to achieve favorable results.
Norris didn’t just beat Verstappen at Zandvoort; he completely dominated him. The McLaren driver finished 22.9 seconds ahead of the Dutchman, marking Verstappen’s largest margin of defeat since Lewis Hamilton crossed the line 21.8 seconds ahead of him in Jeddah in 2021.
Ahead of the Italian GP weekend in Monza, Verstappen spoke about the prospect of losing the World title to Norris. “I’m just doing the best I can,” the 26-year-old said. “Whether I win or not is not going to change my life.”
With nine races left, Verstappen insisted that not winning wouldn’t change anything. “Would I like to win? Yes, of course. But the performance of the car is not in my hands. I don’t know if that will be enough until the end of the year,” he added.
https://t.co/wBvTAwTp6l [Ticker] – Max Verstappen spoke about the World Championship situation in his media round and explained: “I’m just doing the best I can. Whether I win or not is not going to change my life. Would I like to win? Yes, of course.”
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— Junaid #JB17 (@JunaidSamodien_) August 29, 2024
Verstappen holds a 70-point advantage over Norris heading into Monza. While the lead is still comfortable, things could get tough if Norris starts winning consecutive races. Verstappen will need to outperform him in some of the remaining outings to maintain his advantage.
Norris’ utterly dominant performance at the Dutch GP also made Verstappen claim that the Briton could easily turn the deficit into a championship lead.
Why Verstappen is struggling
Verstappen started 2024 as the strong favorite to retain his title. The RB20 was hailed as a worthy successor to the RB19, which won 20 out of 21 races in 2023 and was seen as the clear benchmark of the field. However, as the season progressed, the momentum shifted away from the Milton Keynes-based team.
| Max Verstappen says the RB20 suffers from both understeer and oversteer.
Red Bull could continue falling behind. Here’s why:https://t.co/JCuYi3xZ0c
— formularacers (@formularacers_) August 25, 2024
The early problems on the RB20 seemed to be related to the car’s performance on kerbs and bumps – lower ride height creating instability with balance. However, soon it turned out that the car was at an overall performance deficit to the McLaren MCL38.
The RB20’s biggest weaknesses were on display during the Dutch GP weekend, a track where Verstappen had won three consecutive times before this year. Red Bull’s balance issues showed no signs of improvement, with Verstappen struggling with significant understeer and oversteer throughout the weekend.
