Red Bull ace Max Verstappen suddenly seems out of form, as rivals McLaren and Mercedes have made quite some progress. There was a time when the Dutch racer seemed unbeatable. Even in the first half of the 2024 season, the reigning champion had won seven races of the first ten. But then the Chinese Grand Prix became the turning point this year, where rival teams made some good progress. Eventually, Mercedes and McLaren won three races each, and Ferrari won a couple. As a result, the gap between Red Bull and McLaren for the Constructors title is only 30 points.
Hence, tension is rising for the defending Constructor Champions. Red Bull has been winless for the last five races. This is a surprising turn of events for the sport’s fans, as the team that won 21 of 22 races last year is going on a five-race slump at the moment. Lately, Max Verstappen has also admitted to doubts about whether he and Red Bull will get on the podium again this year. But Verstappen seemed happy with new experiments on the latest day of practice sessions at Monza, Italy.
Max Verstappen Feels Encouraged Despite “Aggressive” Day
The Dutch racer had a great FP1 session as he led the way, getting past Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and nearest rival in the current standings, Lando Norris of McLaren. However, the second practice at Monza, Italy, on Friday, did not work out well for the three-time champion. Max Verstappen finished at P13, and his teammate Sergio Perez followed him at P14. Later, in the post-race interview, the Dutchman explained, “The track was aggressive.” During FP2, Red Bull failed to set a time on the soft tyres after aborting during the qualifying runs. Previously, they made a mistake while entering the Parabolica. Later, media quoted Verstappen saying, “Today, we did try quite a few things, but the second practice session was not that great.”
However, the Dutch racer seemed happy with the long run as they were more competitive. Since the tyres were opening up, Max felt that the track had been quite aggressive on the tires. It is even more interesting to see how they will evolve for the Grand Prix on the final day at Monza. Verstappen also believes they have some good directions for the RB20 car. But Red Bull will have to see how they can tidy things up a bit. Then, the reigning champion feels it will get much closer between them and the other rivals. Eventually, the Milton Keynes outfit can get into that mix.
RB20 Makes It Tougher For Red Bull
If it was 2023, Red Bull had no reason to worry as RB19 was unquestionably superior to other cars. That’s the reason why they managed to win 21 of 22 races last season. However, this year, RB20 proved that it is not as strong as its predecessor. Hence, the team has been trying different paths for the perfect setup of the 2024 challenger. Although Max Verstappen still has a 70-point lead over McLaren’s Lando Norris, he can’t be sure of lifting the championship trophy this time. The Dutchman says, “Since there is no clear path for the car, we are chasing a few paths.”
But he knows that they can try different directions all they want. In the end, practice sessions are held so that teams can learn about the car. Finally, Max Verstappen concluded that FP1 was decent in terms of the car, and FP2 was not so good. But it was better in the long run. Hence, Verstappen says they just need to find a way to get the right things together to be in the mix.
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