Max Verstappen has expressed serious concerns about the ‘fundamental’ problems affecting Red Bull Racing during the Monaco Grand Prix weekend. According to him, these issues, which date back to 2022, have been hidden by the car’s previous advantages but are now becoming more apparent.
Red Bull Racing’s performance has taken a hit, struggling with bumps and kerbs, making the car behave unpredictably. Verstappen described it as feeling like he’s ‘driving without suspension,’ with the car bouncing around and not absorbing kerbs, bumps, or camber changes.
The difficulties are not new. These problems have been present since the introduction of the ground effect cars in 2022. Their significant car advantage masked these issues, but as other teams catch up, Red Bull’s weaknesses are being exposed. Verstappen almost hitting the wall multiple times at Monaco highlights the severity of the problem.
Despite the car’s issues, Verstappen was close to the front runners in qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix, finishing sixth on the grid. He noted that a mistake on his final lap cost him a better position, but he was only three-tenths of a second off pole position. ‘F*** knows,’ Verstappen said when asked about his potential position without the mistake. ‘I’m pushing flat out. The car is just super tricky. In Turn 1 it suddenly goes over the bumps. There was no big mistake. The car is literally on a knife edge to drive.’
Verstappen pointed out that the RB20 was supposed to resolve these issues, but it hasn’t. He described the situation as a ‘fundamental problem’ that can’t be fixed in a matter of weeks and admitted uncertainty about whether it could be resolved this season. ‘First of all, we need to understand what it is, and we don’t know,’ Verstappen said. ‘We’ll work hard to identify the problem and try to fix it, but I don’t know if we can do it this year or if we have to wait for next year. If we knew, we would have fixed it by now. Obviously, we don’t.’
Monaco marks the third consecutive tough weekend for Red Bull, with each weekend presenting different problems. Verstappen noted that in Miami, the issue was balance and perhaps tires, while at Imola, they struggled with tire management despite an overall okay performance. ‘I knew Monaco would be one of our toughest weekends with everyone catching up.’
Looking forward, Verstappen expects challenges at other circuits too. ‘Some tracks without bumps still require you to drive on kerbs,’ he mentioned. However, there are also tracks that suit their car better. The focus remains on improving the car’s areas of weakness to ensure better performance across all tracks.
As for the championship, Verstappen holds a 48-point lead over Monaco GP pole sitter Charles Leclerc. He remains unfazed by the potential impact of a bad race, emphasizing the importance of consistency. ‘I don’t even think about it,’ Verstappen said. ‘The title race is long. Anything can happen. One bad race won’t change the title. To win a title you have to be consistent and that’s what we have to aim for.’
Verstappen’s candid remarks underline the challenges Red Bull faces in maintaining its dominance amidst increasing competition and technical difficulties. His open dissatisfaction adds to speculations about potential moves to other teams, possibly cutting short his contract with Red Bull Racing.
The Monaco Grand Prix has brought to light significant challenges for Red Bull Racing, with Max Verstappen’s revelations pointing to deep-rooted issues in the car’s design. As the competition catches up, Red Bull’s path to maintaining dominance appears fraught with technical hurdles.
