After their rampant and near-invincible run for two years, Red Bull is finally showing signs of weakness. They have already lost two of the seven races so far this campaign, and at the Monaco GP on Sunday, it could become three out of eight. Noting the closing gap between them and the rest of the grid, Max Verstappen points out how a flaw from 2022 could potentially jeopardize their ongoing campaign as well.
Red Bull’s current car, the RB20, struggles on the kerbs and bumps on the track, which Verstappen and Sergio Perez complained about throughout qualifying on Saturday. Quoted by Racing News 365, Verstappen draws comparisons between the RB18 and RB20. The former, their 2022 Championship-winning car, showed similar shortcomings at the time.
According to the Dutch driver, not solving the problem in hand two years ago has come back to bite them in the present. It is what is causing their dominance to falter.
“If the competition is getting closer and you don’t solve your weakness, you get this. It is a fundamental problem and a worst case scenario.”
Not a favourable position. We tried to extract everything out of the car, but it was difficult to control. Eyes on tomorrow #KeepPushing #MonacoGP pic.twitter.com/x0OjHHrwCq
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) May 25, 2024
Expectations were high from Red Bull after they lost just one race in 2023. They even started 2024 positively, dominating the opening two races. However, the Milton-Keynes-based team hasn’t been able to replicate what they did in the previous campaigns in the races thereafter.
Noting Ferrari’s performance in Monaco, Verstappen is wary of the tides turning in favor of the Maranello-based outfit for good.
Max Verstappen believes Ferrari might soon get the better of Red Bull
Max Verstappen claims that there is no immediate solution to Red Bull’s mechanical problems. Finishing on the podium in Monaco this weekend for Verstappen looks like a far shot, as he starts from P6 and overtaking is difficult in the circuit.
But what worries him more is Ferrari’s resurgence overall. He feels that Ferrari is “miles ahead” of Red Bull and not just in Monaco. Thus, all the 26-year-old cares about, for now, is to make the RB20 more drivable.
“Just as a team, we didn’t have the pace today” ♂️
Sergio Perez admits Ferrari would still have won the race even if Max Verstappen had stayed in the race pic.twitter.com/cLEgc0Atgu
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) March 24, 2024
Meanwhile, Perez has entered a bigger slump. Verstappen’s teammate will start the Monaco GP from P16 on the grid, and scoring points will be an extremely difficult task for the Mexican driver. As for Ferrari, Perez is also of the opinion that the Italian team is strong, and out of Red Bull’s reach at the moment.
