With McLaren closing in on Red Bull in the championship, it’s crunch time for the latter. Three-time World Champion Max Verstappen recognizes this and has taken a more hands-on approach to help his team improve.
Verstappen has been complaining about issues with the RB20 for months. He was particularly unhappy with the balance, which caused him to experience understeer on several occasions. During the Hungarian GP weekend, a frustrated Verstappen also lashed out at his team members, urging them to wake up.
De Telegraaf reported that Verstappen sat down on a Zoom call with Red Bull’s engineers and Team Principal Christian Horner to brainstorm solutions. This highlighted the team’s desperation, as Verstappen was not previously known for spending time ideating with the staff.
Last Tuesday, Max sat down with his team of engineers over a zoom-call to discuss the rb20, providing feedback to find possibilities and discussing the difficulties of the car
– from De Telegraaf pic.twitter.com/ZwwP1JZjWz
— Verstappen News (@verstappenews) August 30, 2024
In the last race at Zandvoort, McLaren’s Lando Norris finished 22 seconds ahead of Verstappen in P2. While Horner insisted they weren’t too worried about the deficit, in reality, Red Bull likely recognized the need to make quick adjustments to regain their advantage.
Things haven’t worked out well for Red Bull at this weekend’s Italian GP either. Both Verstappen and Sergio Perez struggled in Free Practice. However, Chief Advisor Helmut Marko suggested that there was more potential yet to be unlocked.
Red Bull wasn’t running at full power
Verstappen finished FP2 in 14th place, one position ahead of Perez, and knew there was more work needed to make the car competitive. However, Marko revealed that Red Bull had hidden some pace.
“We didn’t bring the engine up to full power,” Marko said in an interview after Friday’s practice. “In the long run, before graining occurred, we were absolutely ahead. So it looks much worse than the case.”
Red Bull had the slowest car on the straight during the FP2 session. Additionally, Verstappen didn’t manage a clean hot lap in FP2, which contributed to his position in the bottom half of the timing sheet.
If Red Bull do manage to find the hidden pace Marko was talking about, they could leave Monza happy.
