May 27 (GMM) Red Bull’s dominance of Formula 1 “is over”, according to Max Verstappen’s father Jos.
Verstappen senior has been absent from the paddock since the early-season peak of the team’s leadership power struggle and Christian Horner scandal.
Jos, 52, openly predicted that if Horner stayed at the helm as team boss – which he did – then Red Bull would gradually fall apart.
In Monaco, Jos was present in the Red Bull garage for the first time in months, and he admitted that his prediction of the team’s decline may now be coming true.
“There will certainly be races where Red Bull will look good again,” he told De Telegraaf. “But I am curious how they will solve this problem.
“Something has to be done at Red Bull,” the former F1 driver added.
Team consultant Dr Helmut Marko thinks there’s a problem with the simulator-to-track correlation regarding bumps and kerbs, resulting in handling problems that Max Verstappen admits the engineers do not understand.
Jos Verstappen insists: “They have to find out where the problems come from. It is clear that McLaren and Ferrari are getting closer.
“Max was able to mask it somewhat, but you can see how big the difference was between him and his teammate. It seems to me that the dominant period for Red Bull is over.”
Verstappen senior admits that he sees a link between the team’s recent performance struggles and the internal conflict, which so far has cost the team Adrian Newey.
“They may have to concentrate a little more on racing and on mutual communication, instead of on other things,” Jos declared.
Horner, however, said performance and the off-track “noise” are entirely separate.
“The big lesson I’ve learned is that when I enter the garage, everything is normal,” he told RTBF. “This is also reflected in the results, which were generally very good in this first part of the season.
“The noise comes from outside.”
Horner says Max Verstappen is also fully committed to finding the solution.
“He tells it like it is and ensures everyone is focused,” he said. “We had a very good team meeting,” he said. “Max puts a lot of effort into spending time with the engineers in the evening.
“There is no magic solution, we just have to work hard and understand the problem,” Horner added.
Even rival teams are scratching their heads about Red Bull’s sudden slump.
“I have no idea what’s happening there,” said McLaren boss Andrea Stella. “I think we need a few races to find out.
“After this we go to Canada, where the bumps and kerbs are also crucial. That might provide a better insight.”
Horner agrees: “We don’t suddenly have a bad car.
“We now go to Montreal, Barcelona, Austria and Silverstone – let’s see where we stand after that. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, and we’re still leading both championships.”