Max Verstappen explains the handling issues Red Bull must resolve on the RB20
Lando Norris claimed a hugely dominant victory in Zandvoort, crossing the line over 20 seconds ahead of Max Verstappen. Although this is not the first time McLaren have been the fastest team, today demonstrated how large Red Bull’s deficit has become. Verstappen did well to even manage second place, with Ferrari arguably showing better performance than Red Bull in race trim.
Heading into this weekend, the prospect of McLaren upgrades meant the Woking-based team were obvious favourites for victory. However, the extent of their win was unprecedented.
For Red Bull, the concerns that emerged during the summer break have been further magnified. Their upgrades are failing to deliver performance, and there aren’t many of them on the way.
Speaking to the media, Verstappen has summarised the issues he faces in the RB20:
“Everything. Oversteer, understeer, all in different places on the track. It was all the runs.”
Perhaps more concerningly, the Dutchman admitted earlier in the weekend that there “is no clear answer for how to improve that specifically, but we’ll look into it.
“Just a bit too slow, simple as that.”
No upgrades for Red Bull, who are running out of answers
The last few months have seen Red Bull’s development continue to spiral downward. After starting the year with a significant advantage, the RB20 finds itself increasingly adrift from McLaren.
To make matters worse, Christian Horner’s engineers seem unclear about what direction to follow. Verstappen’s growing complaints about the RB20’s unpredictable handling confirm the lack of clarity at Milton Keynes.
Depending on the circuit and track layout, Mercedes and Ferrari push the Austrian team to third-fastest.
Overall, the situation is bleak at Milton Keynes. The departure of Adrian Newey, which coincided with the start of their decline in June, now seems an even bigger loss.
If Newey joins Aston Martin, as LWOS and other outlets anticipate, then Lawrence Stroll’s team could become a legitimate rival in 2026.
Returning to the current state of affairs, Red Bull are limited to minor tweaks and set-up changes to improve performance. Beyond this, the reigning Champions are essentially at a dead end.
With Fred Vasseur confident Ferrari can unlock more pace from their next updates, the dynamics are becoming less and less favourable for Christian Horner’s team.
The so-called “Verstappen factor” could be what Red Bull rely on to limit the damage to rivals in upcoming weeks and months,
