Red Bull's 2024 season has been marked by confusion and concern as the team struggles to comprehend the reasons behind its sudden and ongoing loss of dominance in Formula 1.
Max Verstappen, leading the championship, seemed poised for a stronger showing at Monza, a faster circuit compared to the winding track at Zandvoort the previous week—until the final qualifying session on Saturday.
"Incomprehensible," stated Dr. Helmut Marko, discussing Verstappen's unexpected dip in speed on brand new tyres during the crucial Q3 qualifying phase.
"There is something that isn't working logically," the team advisor explained to Sky Deutschland, following Verstappen's slower time behind both McLaren cars, as well as the Mercedes and Ferraris.
"Thank God this is Monza, where you can overtake," Marko added.
"But if we lack speed in the race again, like in the previous race, then the situation looks very serious."
Verstappen elaborated on the difficulties with his 2024 car, mentioning that the car "just wouldn't turn anywhere. Not in turn one, turn four, turn six, turn seven. It's either understeer or oversteer. Actually, a bit of both."
He, like Marko, found it "bizarre" that their performance decreased on fresh tyres, noting, "The long run wasn't that great either, so we'll see. But now we're at the back of the group," admitted Verstappen.
Despite earlier indications from both Verstappen and Sergio Perez on Thursday that Red Bull had started to identify the issues by reverting to the original floor design used in Bahrain, Verstappen confessed on Saturday, "We have never found the problem."
Even with a 70-point lead over Lando Norris of McLaren, Verstappen's chances of securing a fourth straight drivers' championship are looking increasingly precarious.
"We all expected Norris to win and Max to finish second," commented Dutch racing analyst Tom Coronel on Viaplay. "Then it will still be fine. But more races like this, if Max is now sixth or seventh, that gap will close very quickly."
If Norris clinches victory on Sunday and Verstappen finishes in P7, the lead could shrink by as much as 19 points—or even 20, should the McLaren secure the fastest lap.
"I see that they have really lost their way," Coronel continued. "Not a little bit, but with every step they take now, they are going backwards."
Another Dutch commentator, Christijan Albers, observed after qualifying that Red Bull had brought out a completely new monocoque from their truck, possibly suspecting a fault in Verstappen's chassis.
"I don't know if it will be used in the race," remarked the former F1 driver, "but one thing is for sure - Max is absolutely not happy with the car."
Marko added, "We have to face the truth; our car is not what it was at the start of the season. The engineers have to find the point where we took a wrong turn."
He continued, "That is not easy because there have been many development steps since the start and we still have no idea what is responsible for which reaction of the car."
