The Hungarian GP was a tricky event for Red Bull, with Max Verstappen missing out on a podium for the first time since Monaco. The RB20 lacked the pace to match McLaren, who remain the fastest team – despite Red Bull’s latest upgrades.
Red Bull development stagnates
Red Bull were the only front-running team with a major upgrade package in Budapest.
The technical department led by Pierre Wache expected to take a major step forward.
With Mercedes gathering momentum – and McLaren now the established benchmark – improvements from Milton Keynes were necessary.
However, the feedback about the latest iteration of the RB20 has been negative from the beginning.
Verstappen was not overly thrilled at the end of Friday Practice, though the team reserved judgement for qualifying and race day.
The Dutchman narrowly missed out on Pole Position, but the situation was worse over a Grand Prix distance.
McLaren’s race pace is still supreme, with the MCL38 also excellent at tyre management.
Red Bull have fallen behind, not only in terms of performance but in terms of driver comfort.
Max Verstappen is not happy with the car’s new characteristics.
The RB20 is less compliant than the Triple World Champion would like, becoming more understeer-y in nature.
Although drawing conclusions from one race weekend is difficult, the trajectory at Red Bull is concerning.
Verstappen, Marko concerned for remainder of 2024
A significant portion of the team’s development budget went into this weekend’s upgrades.
Significant changes were made to the car in the internal sections (like the floor) and external bodywork.
However, their impact on performance is falling well short of expectations.
Considering the leap forward McLaren achieved with their Miami upgrades, the recent progress at Milton Keynes is underwhelming.
Unless Red Bull can unlock something with set-up in Belgium, the remainder of 2024 could be McLaren’s to lose.
The team’s internal struggles, which culminated in Adrian Newey’s departure, are common knowledge in the F1 paddock.
Whilst Christian Horner will try to downplay the impact of this off-track instability on the teams’s trajectory, it seems fair to say Red Bull are no longer the dominant force in Formula 1.
Max Verstappen certainly isn’t optimistic about the situation. After qualifying, he said bluntly that people needed to “wake up” within the team.
He argued that Red Bull have been ridding their luck in recent months, making clear the current situation is unsustainable.
After today’s race, Helmut Marko shared his assessment of the worsening performance of the RB20.
For the first time in almost three years, the Austrian team has its back against the wall.
