Wolff On Red Bull: 'One Of Worst Races That I've Seen From Them For Many Years'

Wednesday, 04 September 2024 at 22:00

Toto Wolff was quite surprised by Red Bull's performance at the 2024 Italian Grand Prix, calling it "one of the worst" he has seen from the F1 team.

Red Bull Racing drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez crossed the finish line at Monza Circuit after 53 laps of the 2024 Italian Grand Prix only in P6 and P8.

The team from Milton Keynes was only the fourth fastest, and their drivers have now not stood on the top step of the podium for six consecutive weekends.

While many F1 fans say they enjoy seeing different winners every race, Red Bull's slump in performance remains a mystery. Even Mercedes's team principal, Toto Wolff, admitted he was puzzled.

Asked after the race about whether he was surprised by Red Bull Racing's slump in performance after the summer break, he responded to media in Monza.

"Yeah, that's really weird. I have no insight, obviously, but that is not at all the Red Bull of the start of the year, dominant."

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Perez Believes He Helped Verstappen While He Started Having 'Similar Issues'

"I think that Max [Verstappen] was able to keep it going for a while with his ability, but it seems now that [they have collapsed], from the sheer results, and that's what I see without understanding, without knowing what's going on inside, because it could be blip, also."

Max Verstappen's lead in the drivers' championship is now decreasing weekend by weekend, and after the Italian Grand Prix, the Dutchman himself asserted that winning the title was not realistic with this level of performance.

The bad news? He might have to wait until the next big upgrade comes in Austin. If Red Bull cannot somehow solve their car balance problems in the meantime, it will be tough two Grand Prix weekends in Azerbaijan and Singapore.

In his column for Speedweek.com, Helmut Marko stated that the problem is now clear, but it remains to be seen whether, when, and how Red Bull engineers can solve it.