Drama in Formula 1 is nothing new, but the recent struggles of Red Bull Racing have become a hot topic. Despite being reigning champions, they’ve faced significant technical issues since the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix. Helmut Marko, Red Bull’s sporting director, has offered some insight into what might be going wrong.
During the recent Monaco Grand Prix, the Red Bull car had a tough time handling the kerbs, and it looks like the upcoming race in Canada will present similar challenges. Max Verstappen didn’t hold back, saying the car feels like it’s driving without suspension, bouncing all over the place and failing to absorb the kerbs, bumps, or camber changes. ‘It’s like I’m driving without suspension,’ Verstappen explained. ‘The car is bouncing around a lot, not absorbing kerbs, bumps or camber changes. In the last corner, the number of times I almost hit the wall is unbelievable.’
Verstappen highlighted that this isn’t a new issue. It dates back to the introduction of the ground effect cars and was initially concealed by Red Bull’s car advantage. ‘We’ve had this problem since 2022. For the last two years, our car advantage has masked it. But now that everyone is catching up, our weaknesses are being exposed,’ he said. This problem seems so fundamental that Verstappen is unsure if it can be resolved this season at all.
‘First of all, we have to understand what it is and we don’t know,’ he admitted. ‘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.’
The recent races have been tough for Red Bull, with each race presenting different challenges. Verstappen noted issues with balance and tires in Miami, and although the team managed to improve things at Imola, they still struggled, especially with the hard tires. Monaco was expected to be one of their toughest weekends, and it lived up to that expectation with competitors catching up.
Helmut Marko pointed out that the competition has been doing a great job. ‘The regulations are in their third year and people are copying. Some copy better and some make the copy even better and that is what has happened with McLaren,’ Marko said, giving credit to Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri for their impressive results. Ferrari has also been constantly developing.
Another significant issue Marko identified is with Red Bull’s simulator. According to him, the simulator has consistently indicated that the car performs well over the kerbs, but this hasn’t been the case on the actual track. ‘Both drivers came to Monte Carlo excited and said the car handled the kerbs really well, but as soon as they were in the car they said
undriveable,
Marko explained. The simulator’s discrepancies came to a head at the Singapore Grand Prix, where Red Bull suffered a rare defeat due to misleading data.
Marko elaborated on this in his ‘Speedweek’ column, stating that the simulator was producing outputs that did not match reality. ‘The problem starts in the simulator, which indicated that the car runs perfectly over the kerbs. Simply put, the simulator and reality do not correlate,’ he said. This problem was pinpointed as a major factor undermining their race strategy and performance.
Looking forward to the Canadian Grand Prix at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Red Bull faces a familiar challenge. The circuit is known for its difficult kerbs, and with the circuit undergoing major changes, including new identical kerbs and a completely resurfaced track, the team will need to be on top of their game. The FIA has also changed several run-off areas and realigned barriers, adding another layer of complexity to the race.
Jos Verstappen, Max’s father, emphasized the urgency of fixing these issues to avoid more defeats to rivals like Ferrari and McLaren. ‘There will definitely be races where Red Bull will be in good shape again, but I am very curious to see how they are going to solve this. Something really needs to happen,’ he said. ‘Red Bull need to find out where this problem is coming from, because it is clear that teams like Ferrari and McLaren are getting closer. Max has been able to hide it a bit, but the big difference with Sergio Perez is becoming more and more obvious.’
As Red Bull tackles these challenges, the focus remains on resolving the discrepancies in their simulator data to reclaim their competitive edge. The coming races will be a true test of their resilience and technical prowess.
As Red Bull continues to address these technical difficulties, the team’s ability to innovate and adapt will be critical. The upcoming races will reveal whether they can overcome these hurdles and regain their dominant position in Formula 1.
