Red Bull introduced new upgrades to its car at the Hungarian GP weekend, and Max Verstappen hoped to regain his dominance. But things took a turn for the worse, with the Dutchman failing to crack even the top three. It put them a step back, and Helmut Marko revealed that Red Bull had started brainstorming, to try and rectify the problem soon.
However, Verstappen may not find respite in his home race in two weeks. Marko said, “I don’t think the big solution will come in Zandvoort.”
The entire team is collectively thinking about solutions to its problems. But there isn’t much the Milton-Keynes-based team can do right now.
Marko: “I don’t think the big solution will come in Zandvoort. We are brainstorming intensively and we have several ideas as well. But I cannot say yet what we will implement and how.”
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With all work shut down for two weeks during the summer break, Red Bull can do no physical work on its car. Hence, the only option left for them is to brainstorm ideas.
Marko added, “We have to solve our problems and find out where we went wrong because the RB20 has lost its balance if you compare it to the first three races. It is difficult to estimate how long it will take us.”
Red Bull’s team principal Christian Horner meanwhile, gives a more direct explanation. According to him, Red Bull doesn’t have the right operating window.
McLaren has a much wider window than Red Bull: Horner
McLaren has the entire paddock’s attention with its rapid rise back to the top. Horner for one, believes that the Woking-based outfit’s car operates within a much wider window, compared to Red Bull.
Christian Horner: “McLarens are in a better operating window than us, it seems wider, and ours makes it difficult to find a good balance for engineers and drivers. All the factors are critical and the team is aware of this.”
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For Red Bull to get closer to McLaren on that front, Horner admits that the balance of the car needs to be fixed. It is a problem that both he and Marko highlighted, and Verstappen too has expressed his frustration regarding the same several times.
While Red Bull and its drivers wait for an upgrade package to come, the best Horner can do is listen to Verstappen. The Dutchman has been vocal about Red Bull’s issues and is asking for urgency in development, to prevent others from dethroning them.
