The Dutch GP was confirmation of what Red Bull knew several months ago – they are no longer the fastest team. Still, the extent of Lando Norris’ victory last weekend was a significant blow for the defending champions. As McLaren prepare additional updates, Red Bull are struggling to find solutions. At least for now, there are no immediate fixes coming from Milton Keynes.
F1 News: Red Bull unlikely to bring upgrades soon
Verstappen working with limited tools
In many ways, McLaren’s latest victory is evidence of how impressively Max Verstappen has performed this season.
Andrea Stella’s team have been comfortably faster than Red Bull for some time.
However, whilst Verstappen can be pleased with his efforts, the situation in both Championships is becoming a concern.
Norris and McLaren are quickly closing the gap, with the current trend suggesting they can take victories at their best circuits with relative ease.
To make matters worse for Red Bull, their future development is looking precarious a best.
Verstappen used an older specification of the RB20 in Zandvoort, allowing the team to compare data directly with Sergio Perez’s car, which had the newest components.
This decision was partly influenced by the failure of Red Bull’s Hungary updates, which failed to generate the necessary results.
Although Christian Horner insists fixes are being developed, this kind of comparison work usually indicates a team that is unsure about the path ahead.
Concerns about the RB20’s ceiling
Luckily for Red Bull, the 2026 season is eighteen months away. This means that most teams will stop developing their 2025 cars at the start of next year, instead focusing on the new regulations.
For a team running out of ideas with his generation of F1 cars, this transition cannot come fast enough.
The incoming regulation changes should alleviate the cost of the RB20’s potentially limited development ceiling.
With that said, Red Bull’s rivals are still making progress.
McLaren are the most obvious example, as a team whose upgrades have been extremely effective continues to bring innovations.
Ferrari are also a threat, with this weekend’s Italian GP updates intended to rectify the SF-24’s mid-season woes.
Should the latest package from Maranello prove successful, there is reason to expect a late-season resurgence from Ferrari.
After all, even with the limitations of their existing package, they still showed solid pace last weekend.
Mercedes cannot be written off either, given that W15’s trajectory has been very largely upward in 2024.
To be clear, this is not to say all of their issues have been addressed.
The Dutch GP was a reminder that Mercedes are still susceptible to swings in performance when track conditions change.
Still, Toto Wolff’s team have claimed three victories since Red Bull last won a race.
They are undoubtedly a threat, not just for this season but 2025 as well.
In short, Red Bull have lost their footing in the development race.
The rapid progression of rivals has blindsided them, increasing the pressure on the Milton Keynes factory to find solutions that have deserted them for several months.
