The Italian Grand Prix was the low point in an eventful season for Red Bull.
The Milton Keynes-based team looked set to dominate again this year with Max Verstappen, but have looked on aghast as McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes have delivered faster cars and closed the points gap.
Red Bull now has to pull out all the stops to keep up with the pace of its rivals, something it has failed to do of late.
At the revamped Monza, the extent of Red Bull’s problems were laid bare. Verstappen and Sergio Perez struggled to handle a car that failed to turn all weekend, finishing a lowly sixth and eighth.
It means the gap to McLaren in the constructors’ championship has shrunk to a paltry eight points.
Worse still, it does not appear as if a solution is imminent. Red Bull is struggling with balance problems with its RB20. It understands the core issue, but a desperately-needed adjustment is unlikely until the United States Grand Prix in Austin.
Therefore, the upcoming Azerbaijan and Singapore Grand Prix will be a matter of survival for Red Bull, especially considering the problem of riding the bumps and kerbs that may well rear its ugly head again
Crucial
Okay, Azerbaijan’s versatile street circuit, partly due to its long straights and many 90-degree turns, need not be a huge problem for Red Bull, but Singapore turned into a debacle last season.
Verstappen and Perez were eliminated in Q2 and did not compete for victory. Even the dominant RB19 could not function around the Marina Bay Street Circuit.
This year’s big problem is that Red Bull needs to find the balance again the current package, a struggle that has been going on for months, if not close to a year.
No matter what the team tried in Italy, nothing worked. As soon as a balance problem at the front was solved, it affected the rear, and vice-versa.
“Upside-down steering,” Verstappen jokingly called it at Zandvoort, whilst also conceding the problem with bumps and kerbs has not yet been fixed.
Red Bull will therefore travel to Azerbaijan and Singapore without a great deal of confidence – and certainly not as favourites.
After the summer break, things went wrong at two completely different circuits, so it is not a certainty the ideal balance will now be found.
Damage limitation
It is therefore likely Red Bull will lose the lead in the constructors’ championship.
McLaren has the fastest car and an edge over Red Bull and it would be tantamount to a miracle if Verstappen is ahead of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri without a significant update.
Not to mention Ferrari and Mercedes, of course, who may provide the papaya team a buffer from the Red Bull pair.
Is there anything in the short term that can be done about the RB20? Of course.
Red Bull is working hard in the factory to optimise the balance of the car, but there is no magic wand to suddenly locate the missing performance.
However, with a better balance the reigning constructors’ champions could re-close the pace delta to the other teams and, perhaps in a chaotic race, take advantage of any problems that might arise for its rivals.
All in all, it will be damage control for Red Bull in Azerbaijan and Singapore.
Verstappen and Red Bull have undeniably benefited from misses at McLaren in recent rounds and had the Woking team made different choices, the difference in the drivers’ championship would have been less than 62 points, and it would be leading the constructors’ fight.
If Red Bull is still in first place after the upcoming double-header, it will be remarkable.
As for Verstappen, he will hope the gap over Norris does not rapidly diminish further otherwise the end of the season could be a fraught affair.
