Red Bull's Christian Horner addresses Max Verstappen's recent struggles

At the beginning of the 2024 Formula 1 season, Verstappen seemed unstoppable, clinching victory in four of the first five races. However, his dominance has since waned, with the Dutch driver winning only three of the subsequent nine races and failing to secure a win in the last four, a drought not seen since late 2020.

Despite showing flashes of brilliance in the RB20, Verstappen has been unable to replicate the success of the previous season when the RB19 was virtually unbeatable.

Red Bull have made numerous updates to this year's car, but these changes have not significantly improved performance. This struggle contrasts sharply with McLaren, whose major upgrade at the Miami Grand Prix propelled them forward. Since then, McLaren have only needed to make incremental updates to maintain their competitive edge.

Horner has attributed Red Bull's challenges to the car's performance window. "Their car is in a better window than ours at the moment," Horner explained, comparing McLaren's car to Red Bull's.

"It has a broader window. Our window seems to be very peaky, and that's what's making it difficult for the engineers and drivers."

The team's efforts to address this issue include bringing a new upgrade package for the Hungarian Grand Prix, the final race before the summer break. Despite this, Verstappen could only manage to qualify 0.046 seconds behind pole-sitter Lando Norris.

Frustration boiled over during the race, with Verstappen's candid and colourful radio messages to his engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, capturing his dissatisfaction as he finished in a disappointing fifth place.

For the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps the following week, Red Bull reverted to a more conventional car specification to tackle the circuit's unique demands.

Horner remains optimistic but realistic about the challenges ahead. "We've got more performance to bring," he stated. "We need to expand that operating window of the car. When the car is in the right window, it can qualify on pole by four-tenths, like in Austria. In Hungary, we missed pole by just a tenth."

Horner acknowledged Verstappen's frustration with the car's limitations and emphasised the need for effective solutions. "Max knows where the performance is; the challenge is translating those issues into engineering and aerodynamic solutions."

With the current F1 season on its summer break until August 23, attention now turns to the Dutch Grand Prix. The next race, set to take place on August 25 at the 4.259-kilometre Circuit Zandvoort, will be a crucial test for Red Bull as they aim to rectify their issues and regain their winning form.