Missing Newey? Too complex a design? What’s turned Red Bull’s F1 car into a “monster”

Max Verstappen’s concession that Red Bull has turned its dominant Formula 1 car into a “monster” shows how extreme the squad feels its problems are.

A lacklustre performance at the Italian Grand Prix, as Verstappen found himself powerless to finish any higher than sixth, has left it in no doubt that both the constructors’ and drivers’ championships are under threat.

The main issue with its RB20 F1 challenger is a handling imbalance which means that both Verstappen and Sergio Perez are struggling to get the car hooked up.

As team boss Christian Horner explained: “There’s a balance issue with the car that isn’t allowing the drivers to commit to corner entry.

“As soon as you calm down the rear, you do that by compromising the front. Then you end up with understeer, and then you kill your tyre that way.”

While it knows what is going on, what Red Bull does not yet understand is what is causing it – nor how to fix it.

But as part of the root-and-branch review of everything that is now being conducted at its Milton Keynes factory this week, some key factors have already emerged as elements that may have played a role in what has happened.

Did it try to be too clever?

When Red Bull revealed its RB20 at its Milton Keynes factory at the start of the year, it surprised many with how big a step it had taken from 2023.

Rather than sit on its laurels after its dominant charge to last year’s title double with an evolutionary design, it went extreme with a hefty revamp of its aero and cooling to deliver an extra step in performance.

But looking back at how things have developed this season, and seeing how McLaren has hunted it down by simply optimising a car that hasn’t changed much since Miami, one element could be that its overly-complex efforts to get one over the opposition have backfired.

Horner said: “What we really need to do is get the [aero] map working. If you look at the McLaren, it almost looks like an evolution of last year’s car, a much simpler car than ours.

“Perhaps we’ve gone a little too complex and perhaps we need to simplify a few things.”

It could also be that as the F1 pace-setter, Red Bull has hit a development limit with the current generation of cars – so major improvements are not possible.

“We’ve hit the ceiling in certain areas and the car’s disconnected,” he added. “Sometimes maybe, to have slightly less…