Red Bull brought two upgrades to Silverstone for the British GP last weekend, revising the floor on both Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez’s RB20s. Whereas Perez’s mistake that got him out of Q1 didn’t raise a lot of eyebrows, Verstappen made an uncharacteristic error which cost Red Bull their entire upgrade package.
During Q1, Verstappen too, struggled. Rain played spoilsport and drivers were struggling for grip. Verstappen, like Perez, lost control of his car at the Copse corner and had a bumpy trip through the gravel trap that obliterated the floor of his car.
Christian Horner later revealed (as per Formule1.nl), “The floor was completely written off. It was a real mess. It was a minor miracle that the mechanics were able to make anything of it.”
⚠️ | Max Verstappen lost 15 points of downforce after sustaining floor damage due to his trip through the gravel in Q1, according to @GiulyDuchessa.
[ NurPhoto via Getty Images]#F1 #BritishGP pic.twitter.com/SHZsGMX6ta
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) July 6, 2024
Regardless, the Red Bull Team Principal praised Verstappen for his efforts in Q2 and Q3. With a broken floor, he put his car on the second row, only a tenth of a second behind McLaren’s Lando Norris in P3.
The mechanics were able to replace Verstappen’s floor ahead of the Grand Prix on Sunday but such mistakes, especially in the cost-cap era, could be costly for an already faltering Red Bull outfit. The Austrian stable has lost its dominant edge and could lose out on the Championship with a handicapped development program.
Red Bull at risk of losing out to rivals in development race
Damage to the cars always racks up a huge repair bill. It also adds a burden to the cost cap which Red Bull breached once in 2022 and was penalized because of it. It also affected their aerodynamic testing, as the FIA reduced their wind tunnel time.
Crash HAAS Kevin Magnussen × Red Bull Sergio Perez a Monaco Grand Prix pic.twitter.com/iWGvJGQoh9
— ココナッツ・パラダイス⛳バンコク・タイランド (@down_blows) May 28, 2024
Perez has already put a $2.8 million dent in Red Bull’s budget cap this season, with most of it coming from his lap-one shunt with the Haas cars in Monaco. Now, Verstappen’s mistake in Silverstone will set them back even further.
This could lead to a situation where Red Bull lacks sufficient resources to develop the RB20. McLaren, Mercedes, and Ferrari are all breathing down the Milton-Keynes-based squad’s neck, and any further errors or crashes could be a fatal blow to its Championship hopes this season.
