Formula 1 News: Verstappen Believes Red Bull’s Development Has Gone Wrong, Causing Balance Issues
Max Verstappen, the reigning Formula 1 champion, has expressed concerns that something has “gone wrong” with Red Bull’s development of their 2024 Formula 1 car, leading to balance issues that have hindered their performance. This comes after a disappointing second-place finish at the Dutch Grand Prix, where McLaren’s Lando Norris took a dominant victory.
In the early stages of the season, Verstappen and Red Bull were the dominant force, but their campaign has stuttered in recent weeks, particularly on bumpier circuits. The Monaco Grand Prix was a notable struggle, and subsequent races have revealed further issues with the car’s balance, which has affected their pace and tyre wear.
“It wasn’t there in the first few races, but something in the car has made it more difficult to drive,” Verstappen said, reflecting on his first-ever home race defeat at Zandvoort. “It’s very hard to pinpoint where that is coming from at the moment. And that is then hurting, of course, our one-lap performance, but also our long-run.”
The Dutch driver struggled with the balance of his RB20 throughout the weekend, which he believes has been the root of their issues. “The whole weekend has been the same limitations. I had pretty much the same balance from FP1 all the way to the race, so it’s just very hard to solve at the moment.”
Verstappen also highlighted their struggles with tyre degradation, an area where Red Bull has typically excelled in previous seasons. “It just seems like we are too slow, but also quite bad on degradation at the moment. That’s a bit weird because I think the last few years normally we’ve been quite good on that.”
The 25-year-old is keen to get to the bottom of their issues, stating, “Something has been going wrong lately with the car that we need to understand and we need to quickly try to improve. It’s just not a connected balance, front or rear.”
Despite their struggles, Verstappen still holds a 70-point lead in the drivers’ championship over Norris, while McLaren has closed the gap to within 30 points of Red Bull in the constructors’ standings. The team will look to bounce back at this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix in Monza, where they will aim to rectify their balance issues and return to their winning ways.
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