Last weekends Monaco Grand Prix saw Red Bull off the podium for the first time since the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix and has led to major questions over the car’s ability to perform at bumpy street circuits.
Image: Oracle Red Bull Racing
Red Bull’s weakness
The RB20’s Achilles’ heel seems to be its kerb riding ability. “I can’t take any kerbs, I’m driving around the kerbs in the middle sector – it’s like driving a go kart.” Max Verstappen said after qualifying P6 in Monaco, ending his streak of eight straight pole positions.
He also added that it’s been a problem for the team ever since the start of these regulations in 2022 – but thanks to everyone beginning to catch up, their weakness has finally been uncovered.
“It is not something new. We have had this problem since 2022,” he said. “Of course, the last few years we have had a car advantage, so it gets masked a little bit because we gain in the corners where the kerbs and bumps are not so much of a limitation.
“But with everyone catching up, when you are not improving your weakest point, you get found out, and that’s what happened this weekend.”
To have Red Bull’s level of near unprecedented dominance, nearly everything must be perfect. But there will always be a weakness to uncover in every great dynasty, even if not straight away.
Winning 21 out of 22 races last year was an incredible achievement. But they were helped in part by Ferrari and Mercedes. With them, getting it wrong and being forced to completely redesign their cars for this year.
And while Mercedes has once again struggled, Ferrari has made a major step over the winter along with McLaren, who, after their major mid-season package last year that brought them to the fore, has gone from strength to strength.
So, any minor grievance within Red Bull’s package is more likely to be an issue when the grid is a lot closer, and they no longer have such a comfortable buffer.
But the car’s issues with riding the kerbs and bumps in Monaco is probably a function of why it’s so quick at the smoother, more aero-dependant circuits on the calendar.
In simple terms, one reason Red Bull has been so dominant during this era of regulation is its mastery of creating a happy marriage between its rear suspension and underbody. Which gives it good consistent downforce.
These ‘ground effect’ cars must be run stiff to keep the platform of the car under control to deliver good downforce.
But it’s in the RB20’s high roll stiffness and large amounts of anti-dive and anti-squat that means on street circuits like Monaco where a bigger rear ride height and more compliant suspension is needed or the car struggles.
Rivals aren’t there yet
Not every car can perform as well as it did on every other circuit. Teams know coming into the season that there will be tracks where their package isn’t as optimal.
That’s why Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur said that despite their win in Monaco and Red Bull proving beatable, the team must continue to push on with improving as ‘nothing’ has changed.
He said: “It’s not a matter of motivation because the motivation is there for a while, but it’s self-confidence for the drivers for the team.”
“And, for sure, as soon as you are in a position to win, you pay more attention to details. You have a kind of snowball effect. This is part of the improvement of the last six or seven months.
“We have to continue like this, but the worst-case scenario would be to imagine that it’s done, that it will be like this until the end.
“We’ll have different tracks with different layouts, different characteristics. We are competing more with McLaren than Red Bull and it will be and down to the end of the season.
“We must score good points when we are not at the top and to win when we are there. But nothing changes.”
There will be venues where Red Bull is likely to struggle again. Bumpy circuits like Singapore or COTA.
“I think now we have at least three teams–but I think Mercedes is not that far away–able to fight for the pole position. Able to fight for the win,” Vasseur said.
“For sure, depending on track to track, we’ll have perhaps Red Bull with an advantage, or Ferrari, or McLaren. And we’ll have to be opportunistic.”
“We are much more opportunistic, and it will be like this until the end of the season, that the fight will be tight.”
The fact McLaren and Ferrari have closed the gap to this point is already a huge win for the neutral F1 fan.
And if they find themselves on a par with Red Bull at the smoother tracks like Barcelona, Silverstone and Spa. Then we truly have a fight on our hands.
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