Max Verstappen and Red Bull were the dominant forces from the start of the ground effect era until McLaren and Mercedes joined the party. Verstappen won 19 of the 22 races in 2023 and comfortably cruised to the championship. However, the tables have turned this year as Verstappen admits to finally breaking a sweat.
“If I have a good car, my life also becomes a bit easier, and probably the team’s as well. But that’s not the case at the moment, so we really have to fight for every position at the top. It’s tough, I’m not going to lie”, said Verstappen, according to Marca.
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The Dutchman was sure that Red Bull wouldn’t dominate like 2023 anytime soon. However, given Red Bull’s start to the current season, no one could’ve predicted a tight battle for the championship. Mercedes, McLaren, and Ferrari as well to some extent, have reduced the performance gap to Red Bull.
14 races in, the 2024 season has already seen seven different race winners with Sergio Perez being the only driver among the top four teams to not win a race. Meanwhile, Verstappen’s exceptional skills have kept Red Bull afloat in the championship in an underperforming RB20.
McLaren’s Miami GP upgrades and Mercedes’ new floor and front wings changed the fortunes of both the teams. The pecking order is quite close with McLaren, Red Bull, and Mercedes trading places depending on the characteristics of the track.
Amid this, Verstappen was furious at the Hungarian GP and slammed the team on the radio. Despite Red Bull bringing a major upgrade package to Budapest, it didn’t really improve the performance leaving Verstappen to vent on the radio.
Verstappen says McLaren and Mercedes are keeping Red Bull on their toes
Amid the power struggle going on at Red Bull, Verstappen highlights that the competition catching up will keep the team alert to the threat and not get too complacent. As seen at the start of the season, Red Bull were winning with ease, but now have to fight hard to even get on the podium.
According to Marca, Verstappen said, “It’s a good thing in a way, it keeps us on our toes. We just have to try to improve a bit more, try to regain that drive to be really competitive.”
James Allison explained that it was a ‘how could we have been so dumb’ moment for Mercedes when they realized the issue with their car. As soon as it was resolved, Mercedes took pole at the Canadian GP.
It’s a matter of consistently developing in the right direction and putting the right parts on the car. Mercedes and McLaren have been able to do so, while Red Bull’s car development is leaving much to desire.
