Red Bull’s Rise to Fall: How Dominant Success in 2023 May Be the Catalyst for F1 Decline
Red Bull’s Balance Issue: A Year-Long Problem
Red Bull representative Christian Horner revealed that the balance issue with the 2024 F1 ‘RB20’ car began with a floor upgrade introduced at the Spanish Grand Prix in June 2023.
According to Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport, Horner stated, “Looking back at our development history, we realized that our first mistake was the underbody update we made in Barcelona in 2023.” He acknowledged that this had already happened.
Max Verstappen’s continued dominant performance led Red Bull to overlook a series of problems believed to be wind tunnel-related for almost a year.
Horner explained, “That was also the Grand Prix where the Czech (Sergio Perez) started having problems with the car. We didn’t take it too seriously because Max kept winning.”
Helmut Marko, Red Bull’s motorsport consultant, added, “It was at Imola this year that we really went in the wrong direction.”
Verstappen has not lost his competitiveness after the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix, taking six pole positions in seven races since then, including Barcelona, and winning eight consecutive races.
Red Bull representative Christian Horner talks to Naomi Campbell and Alpine F1 Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore on the pre-race grid, Sunday 15 September 2024 Azerbaijan F1 GP finale (Baku City route)
A new threshold was introduced in Azerbaijan, and technical director Pierre Washet stated that after the disappointing defeat in Monza, the engineering team identified which parts of the floor were causing the car’s inconsistency.
This change showed some success as Perez was involved in the fight for the podium, but due to a crash in the last two laps with Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), it was not possible to abandon him.
This incident could impact the upcoming Singapore Grand Prix. Horner admitted that there was a shortage of spare parts, and the Milton Keynes factory was given just five days of lead time. If the new floor is not installed in time, Perez could once again be uncompetitive.
However, this plan is not a complete solution. The next update, expected to be introduced at the American Grand Prix, is the favorite. However, the possibility of an impact cannot be ruled out since the Baku accident caused an unplanned use of factory resources.