Red Bull's challenges remain ahead of Dutch F1 Grand Prix

Despite intense internal discussions within the team, Red Bull's efforts to address their performance problems have yet to yield significant improvements.

Earlier in the season, Verstappen's dominance seemed unassailable. He won four of the first five races and appeared poised to continue his reign as he had in the previous two seasons.

However, his invincibility has recently come under threat. The three-time F1 champion has gone four races without a victory, marking his longest winless streak since the end of 2020.

Despite this, Verstappen still holds a substantial 78-point lead over McLaren's Lando Norris in the drivers' standings.

With ten races and three sprints remaining after the summer break, Verstappen's position at the top seems secure. Yet, the recent unpredictable performance of the RB20 has left a window open for Norris to potentially close the gap.

Currently, Formula 1 is in its summer shutdown period, a time during which teams cannot make any modifications to their cars.

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko acknowledged the challenge this posed. "We have to solve our problems and find out where the issue lies because the car's balance has deteriorated compared to the early races of the season," Marko wrote in his column for Speedweek, an Austrian publication.

"It's difficult to predict how quickly we can resolve these issues. I don't think a major solution will materialise in Zandvoort. We are brainstorming intensively and exploring various ideas, but it remains uncertain what changes we will implement and how effective they will be."

Despite these challenges, Marko has expressed confidence in Verstappen's ability to navigate the car's shortcomings.

Verstappen's qualifying performance at the recent Belgian Grand Prix highlighted his potential, as he secured the fastest time before being demoted ten places due to an engine penalty, starting the race from 11th position.

His pole position at the Austrian Grand Prix last month was his only confirmed pole in the last seven races, following a sequence of seven consecutive poles earlier in the season.

Looking ahead to the Dutch Grand Prix on 25 August, a race Verstappen has won the past three years, Marko emphasised the importance of a strong qualifying performance.

"Qualifying in Zandvoort will be crucial because overtaking is almost impossible there," Marko noted. "Max has shown strong performances there recently. We were fastest in Austria and Spa, and in Hungary, we were just a few hundredths of a second off the top.

"We are dealing with our challenges at a high level."

The F1 season is set to resume on Friday, 23 August, following the summer break.