Red Bull should not accept F1 rivals catching up as something 'normal'

Max Verstappen believes his Red Bull Formula 1 team should not accept the new reality of a rival team closing down as “normal”.

Red Bull have enjoyed two dominant seasons in the current regulatory cycle, but while returning to prominence with their RB20, McLaren have now closed the gap, with Mercedes and Ferrari equally competitive on circuits suited to their cars .

Red Bull chief engineer Paul Monaghan said the gains the team had made in developing the RB20 were increasingly small, while team boss Christian Horner also felt it was normal for other teams to make up the deficit over time.

“If you ignore 2023, we’re in for an incredible year,” Horner said. “It’s just that 2023 was a unicorn and that’s normal. It’s Formula 1.”

“It is normal that there are great teams, great drivers and that there is competition. And the advantage of stable regulations is that they always converge.”

But speaking ahead of this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix, Verstappen does not want Red Bull to accept the new normal, or be content with the fact that he has still managed to take three wins in the last five despite not necessarily having the fastest car.

“In general, everyone has come closer,” he said. “Of course, we had an extremely dominant year last year, even up until the last race. And yeah, right now everything is a little bit more difficult and I think we have to be honest about that.

“You could say, ‘Yes, that’s normal.’ I don’t think that’s normal. We always want to be better, and that’s why I bring this up.

“I could also say, ‘Yes, we won, so that’s good.’ But of course, I don’t see it that way.

“We have to keep working hard. If we think it’s normal, people will pass us by.”

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Asked where he felt McLaren were stronger now, he said: “It’s clear we’re lacking certain things. McLaren, I think, just have better balance, a strong front end, they can attack the corners well without the tyres overheating.”

“And they’re actually good everywhere. The street circuits, the faster tracks. And of course we’re a little less (competitive) on these street circuits.

“On the vibrators and the bumps, there are already two things that we really need to work on.

“The handling of the car and the balance too, but these are things that cannot be solved overnight.

“For now, it is clear that others have taken bigger steps than us. »

The world champion says he is personally pushing Red Bull factory staff to make upgrades as soon as possible over the summer months.

“Yes, absolutely. And I’m very busy with that,” he explained. “Every day I work with the engineers and I also try to make sure that the updates come earlier, that’s normal.

“I have the right to be critical. If I say, ‘Yes, everything is fine. I’ll see you next Thursday.’ Things won’t be fine for very long.

“Of course I have confidence in the continued development of the car as a whole, but that must come to fruition in the coming weekends when we bring these updates to the car.”