Red Bull started the 2024 F1 campaign on a strong note winning seven out of the opening ten rounds. However, since the Spanish GP, Max Verstappen has failed to register a single Grand Prix win with the RB20. With Red Bull now touted to be the fourth-fastest team on the grid, team principal, Christian Horner reveals what might have gone wrong for them this season.
The RB20 was billed as a radical evolution of the all-conquering RB19 (which won 21 out of the 22 races last year). That being said, from the Monaco GP onwards, the car’s Achilles’ Heel was exposed — kerbs and low ride-height instability. The Dutch and the Italian GP weekends have finally seen the Milton-Keynes-based team plummet from the fastest car on the grid to an imbalanced “monster” in Verstappen’s words.
Horner believes it has to do with the design route they chose with the RB20. Formula Passion quoted him as explaining, “Maybe this RB20 is a little too complex.”
The Briton highlighted McLaren’s concept with the MCL38 to suggest the team might go down a similar path to minimize the damage into the last eight races of the season. “What we have to do is have a simpler car. If you look at the McLaren, it looks almost like an evolution of last year’s car and it’s a much simpler car than ours.”
Il team principal della Red Bull Christian Horner ha spiegato i problemi della RB20, definita troppo complessa soprattutto rispetto a McLaren
— FormulaPassion.it (@FormulaPassion) September 9, 2024
Verstappen has himself written off a potential title defense this year with the state of things at Milton-Keynes. He believes there is not much he can do with the car he has at his disposal.
Horner’s comments hint towards a possible reverting of the RB20 to an older-spec version. However, reports suggest an upgrade package at the US GP in Austin.
Are Red Bull targeting a comeback in 2024?
It is being reported in the media that Red Bull have re-allocated their 2025 resources to mitigate the issues on the RB20. This will start with an upgrade package at the US GP.
The two upcoming races in Baku and Singapore are street tracks that have historically been not favorable to the Austrian team. Hence, the reigning champions hope to find their feet again once they find themselves back on conventional circuits.
Red Bull set to bring upgrades to Austin, mainly focused on the floor area
Some recourses have been relocated from the RB21 back to the RB20
This slows down development for next year, but is essential so that the RB21 does not carry over the same problems.… pic.twitter.com/Niqqz2nmWj
— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) September 6, 2024
The main area of focus for the upcoming upgrade package will be the floor of the RB20. The concept this year has suffered mainly from a mix of understeer and oversteer during the entry and mid-corner phases.
The re-direction of the efforts is not only to prevent a losing out on the constructors’ title but also to avoid a carry-over of these issues onto the RB21. With eight races remaining this season, McLaren are only eight points away from taking the lead in the title race from Red Bull.
