Red Bull's problems could start at... 2023 Spanish GP, says Horner

Like a virus whose symptoms appear suddenly, the Red Bull RB20 is suffering from a disease that is weakening it from Grand Prix to Grand Prix, and the Austrian team is currently struggling to find a cure. Since the Spanish Grand Prix, the world champion team has not won in Formula 1, conceding defeat after defeat against the McLaren, Classic Ferrari for sale et Classic Mercedes for sale. Worse still, it has lost the lead in the Constructors' Championship, a place it had occupied since the start of 2022!

Although dominant at the start of the season with seven wins in the first ten rounds, the RB20 is no longer as lively as it was in the first rounds of the year. While the competition has obviously closed in at high speed, to the point of overtaking it today, the Austrian machine has also regressed.

Slower and, above all, more difficult to pilot, it was no match for the last two performances, in Italy and Azerbaijan, where Max Verstappen was never able to fight for the podium. Sergio Perez could have saved the honour in Baku, but the Mexican clashed with Carlos Sainz on the penultimate lap while he was third.

Red Bull didn't take Perez seriously...

Since mid-season, Red Bull has been trying to find the reasons for this drop in the hierarchy. In Baku, Christian Horner gave some answers, indicating that his team had identified part of the problem and its source. "We looked back at the history of the development and it turned out that the first mistake happened to us with an evolution of the floor (of the RB19) in Barcelona in 2023, Red Bull Team Principal told Car engine and sport. It was also the Grand Prix where Checo [Pérez] started having problems with the car. We didn't take it seriously because Max won."

A statement that is surprising in several respects: how did Red Bull not realize their mistake earlier? How did they manage to outrageously dominate the 2023 season (21 wins out of 22 Grands Prix) despite this development failure? And above all, why not take Sergio Pérez seriously? Is this behavior worthy of a world champion team? However, this is not the time for questions at Red Bull, which must absolutely provide quick and effective solutions on the RB20, at the risk of losing the Constructors' title... but also the Drivers' title, with the pressure exerted by McLaren and Ferrari.

"We're not defending anymore, we're hunting. That changes the dynamic again, and we're going to give it our all, said Christian Horner after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. We now have a 20-point deficit, so we have to attack." In Baku, Red Bull brought its first solutions, particularly concerning the rear part of the floor, in an attempt to rectify certain problems. A larger package of developments should arrive at the end of October for the United States Grand Prix.

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