Heading into the Singapore GP, McLaren holds a slim lead in the constructors’ championship, having overtaken Red Bull after the Azerbaijan GP. With the Austrian team struggling to find optimum performance levels, winning a race would provide a much-needed morale boost to them. However, Guenther Steiner feels a win might not come their way anymore, putting a question mark on Max Verstappen’s title defense.
On The Red Flags podcast, the former Haas team principal faced a question about Red Bull’s probable finishing positions in the races to come. Co-host Matt claimed he thinks the Milton Keynes-based outfit could only finish between P6 and P10, but wanted to hear Steiner‘s take on it.
While the 59-year-old said those positions would be too far back, he certainly could not see Red Bull win anymore in 2024.
“I wouldn’t see them sixth to tenth but I don’t see them winning races. In the moment, they are too far off or the other ones are too far ahead.”, Steiner said.
Verstappen had been carrying Red Bull’s championship hopes despite McLaren becoming the fastest car on the grid after Miami and Imola. The Dutchman eked out wins in Canada and Spain, but that was the last of his individual brilliance. Since then, he has been winless for the last seven races with only two podiums to show.
A defenseless Red Bull — particularly in the last two races — saw McLaren take over the lead in the constructors’ championship. As the Woking team now sets sight on the drivers’ title, the race in Singapore could be another disappointing outing for Verstappen and Co. However, things might sway in their favor once F1 arrives in the Americas.
Could the United States GP turn things around for Red Bull?
Back in Baku, Red Bull introduced a few upgrades to their car, having identified the issues that hindered their progress. A subtly revamped floor was the most significant part of the upgrade, with the Austrian team hoping for more stability from the car.
However, it did not yield better results as Verstappen struggled with the balance, while Sergio Perez unfortunately crashed out after being in a podium place. Singapore is meant to be even more difficult for Red Bull, with ghosts of last year’s bouncing and stiff ride on the kerbs and bumpy track surface of Marina Bay persisting in the RB20.
With F1 going into a month-long break after Singapore, the team will have more than enough time to make the necessary tweaks and prepare the car for Austin. Thus, Red Bull would bank on its US GP upgrade package to mitigate and eliminate the issues of the RB20 as F1 will return to racing on permanent racetracks from Austin onwards.
This could well be Red Bull’s final attempt to defend Verstappen’s world title. Should the upgrade fail to deliver, McLaren can take full advantage if Lando Norris can be on the push. As such, a helpless Verstappen would be nothing but a bystander as the #4 driver gets crowned the new world champion.
