Max Verstappen has been having a rough time lately with his Red Bull F1 car, as both McLaren and Ferrari have outpaced him in Miami and Monaco due to the team’s ongoing issues with kerb-riding.
Red Bull’s quest for aerodynamic perfection seems to have left them with little mechanical flexibility to adjust the ride settings without affecting performance. This has become a glaring issue on bumpy tracks, as Verstappen’s RB20 struggles significantly with kerbs.
Heading into the Canadian Grand Prix, Verstappen is candid about the team’s current struggles. ‘It takes time,’ he said. ‘You have to redesign things, come up with different things on the car, and that is work in progress.’
These ride issues have plagued Red Bull since the new regulations were introduced. However, their ability to maintain a competitive edge has kept the problem somewhat under wraps—until now. ‘It’s been a problem since day one of the new regulations, and this is something we know and haven’t been able to fix yet,’ Verstappen admitted.
The Monaco race served as a wake-up call for Red Bull, pushing the team to hold crucial meetings and discussions at their Milton Keynes factory. ‘I feel like there’s more focus on that now to try and improve,’ Verstappen said. He acknowledged that with other teams catching up, Red Bull can no longer rely on their previous advantages despite their kerb-riding issues.
The reality of the situation means substantial changes to the car design, which aren’t easy under the budget cap regulations. ‘It just takes a bit of time to make big changes on the car,’ Verstappen noted. ‘Some things might need to be redesigned, and you can’t do that quickly with the budget cap.’
Despite these setbacks, Verstappen remains optimistic about the season. ‘I still think that we can do a good job this year if everything works out,’ he said. While some changes might be delayed until next year, he is hopeful that improvements can still be made in the current season. ‘I’m still hopeful and confident that we can do a better job already this year,’ he added.
Max Verstappen is facing a challenging season with Red Bull’s ongoing technical issues, but he’s not ready to throw in the towel. While significant redesigns are needed and will take time, there’s cautious optimism within the team that they can still achieve strong results this season.
Source: Motorsport
