What Max Verstappen ‘refuses to believe’ about Red Bull’s RB20 upgrades

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen.

Despite talk of diminishing gains and convergence, Max Verstappen refuses to believe Red Bull have reached a performance ceiling as that only leads to laziness.

Grabbing a march on their rivals with their ground-effect aerodynamic RB cars, the charge led by Adrian Newey saw Red Bull win 38 of 44 Grands Prix in the first two seasons of the new technical regulations.

Have Red Bull reached the glass ceiling?

That dominance has taken a hit, and a hard one, this season.

Midway through the campaign, Red Bull have only, by their lofty standards, seven of 12 race wins as Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes have all had their moment on the top step of the podium.

It had Christian Horner telling the media, including PlanetF1.com, after Lewis Hamilton’s British GP victory: “It’s no secret that we have less development time than the others and we’re at the top of the curve so you’re into diminishing returns.”

But, added the Red Bull team boss, “there’s stuff that we have in the pipeline that whilst we are at the top of the curve, there are still gains to be had.”

Gains that Verstappen firmly believes in.

Asked if Red Bull had reached the ceiling in their performance with Helmut Marko talking about a marginal “half a tenth” of a second gain with the RB20’s Silverstone upgrades, the reigning World Champion told Auto Hebdo: “I refuse to believe it because otherwise you become lazy.

“I have complete confidence in everyone in the factory. I know they are working hard to make developments and improve the performance of the car.

“But it is clear that there are many smart people in other teams doing the same thing.”

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The Dutchman also weighed in on Red Bull’s position in the Aerodynamic Testing Regulations following the Milton Keynes team’s P1 in the Constructors’ Championship on June 30.

Reset mid-year based on the championship standings, Red Bull once again have less time than any of their rivals given their position on the log. Next comes Ferrari, McLaren and then Mercedes who have been 2024’s big winners in ATR time.

“Having more time would obviously help us,” Verstappen conceded. “But that’s how the rules are made, they try to slow down the leading team.

“Honestly, when you’re in the position of the fighter, you’re happy that it’s like that, and when you’re on the other side, that’s not how you want it to be.

“But that’s how the rules are written, everyone agrees and you have to live with that.”

Midway through the 2024 season, Red Bull have 373 points on the board with Ferrari second on 302. Over in the Drivers’ Championship, Verstappen is leading by 84 points ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris.

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