Red Bull Racing, after sailing comfortably in the first half of the 2024 F1 season, will be fighting McLaren for the rest of the year to defend the constructors as well as the drivers’ championship. The lead in constructors standings, especially, is reduced to just 30 points.
Hence, McLaren, with the fastest car on the grid will aim to cover the gap in Monza itself. However, per a latest report from Italian media, Red Bull Racing finally found a way out to resolve RB20’s issues and with careful consideration on Max Verstappen’s feedback, a development program is set to be introduced.
Red Bull To Begin Falling Back On Old Specs From Monza Onwards
Red Bull Racing started the 2024 F1 season on a high, with Max Verstappen flying through with a 25+ seconds lead. However, as McLaren appeared a threat, the engineering team, without the help of departing Adrian Newey, introduced a few upgrades which catastrophically backfired. Since then, the RB20 has not only lost pace but also witnessed major reliability and balance issues. Max Verstappen’s frustration was at its peak as he felt his feedback wasn’t addressed properly. Now that the team is on the cusp of losing both the championships to McLaren, the leadership group has decided to take immediate and desperate action. As per Italian media, RB is set to introduce a new development program from Monza onwards.
As a part of this development program, Red Bull will try to resolve RB20’s balance issues. The motive is to make RB20 predictable again. For starters, the engineering team has decided to fall back to old specifications and scrap the upgraded elements piece by piece. In addition, the underbody of RB20, in particular, will be modified. For the Italian Grand Prix, the team has introduced two front and rear wings as track-specific elements. Notably, the Monza circuit has been revamped recently, and the unknown element is what forced the drink-based outfit to enforce changes. That being said, reverting back to old specs only makes sense for RBR, as the time for experimenting with new upgrades has passed. Two more false races will aid McLaren in gaining the lead. Hence, RB20 has to be the fastest car again for Red Bull to topple and restrict McLaren.
Max Verstappen Says Zandvoort Debacle Not A Wake-Up Call
Max Verstappen, defending F1 champion, fell 22 seconds behind Lando Norris at the Dutch Grand Prix to get defeated in his home run. With that, Max’s lead in the championship standings has been reduced to 70 points. While it’s an uphill battle for the two-time race winner Norris, McLaren is beaming with confidence with the fastest car.
That being said, Max Verstappen does not believe the Zandvoort race was a wake-up call for Red Bull. It’s because the weather was challenging, and the wind restricted him from pushing RB20 to its maximum capacity. “The wind made it very difficult for our car, and with the balance issues we have, it was not the strongest weekend,” Verstappen said. For Monza, Max expects a better run on a new track.
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