Max Verstappen’s title warning a message to ‘wake everyone up’ at Red Bull

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

Max Verstappen’s proclamation that both titles are on the line despite his 62-point lead in the Drivers’ is not “strange” to Jeroen Bleekemolen as it was meant as a “wake up” to Red Bull.

McLaren and Lando Norris significantly cut Red Bull’s lead in the Constructors’ and Drivers’ standings at the Italian Grand Prix. The Woking team secured a double podium, while Verstappen, Red Bull’s highest finishing driver, only managed sixth place.

Max Verstappen warned both titles are ‘not realistic’ for Red Bull

At the Italian Grand Prix, Red Bull had their worst two-car points total. Verstappen, starting seventh on the grid, advanced one position, while his teammate, Sergio Perez, stayed in eighth, resulting in their poor performance.

Red Bull’s lead in the Constructors’ Championship was significantly impacted, scoring 12 points to McLaren’s 34. With just eight races remaining, only eight points now separate the teams.

Verstappen’s advantage in the Drivers’ standings was also reduced, but only by eight points thanks in part to McLaren’s “sporting behaviour”, as Helmut Marko put it, as they refused to use team orders to favour Norris.

Verstappen though issued a worrying “not realistic” claim when asked about Red Bull’s prospects of retaining both titles.

While Bleekemolen has minimized the possibility of losing the Drivers’ title to Norris, the 42-year-old Dutch racing driver and analyst believes that Verstappen was giving Red Bull a “wake up” call.

“Yes, that chance [of the title] is still quite big,” the Dutch racing driver told Motorsport.com.

“Look, Max is indicating that this is obviously a matter of logic and rational thought. So, I don’t think it’s odd. I believe it’s also his way of alerting everyone that things are not going well.”

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However, he added, “I completely agree with him about the Constructors’ title. It simply isn’t going to happen. The calculation is straightforward.”

Red Bull is working fervently to address a significant balance problem with the RB20. Although Marko asserts they have established a plan of action following some suggestions from Verstappen, Bleekemolen does not anticipate an easy solution.

Look, the issue is that they are unaware of it themselves, else the solution would have surfaced. The complexity of the story lies in the car’s unpredictability.

Red Bull lacks the solution, which is quite frustrating. However, they need to maintain composure and approach this situation realistically.

Explore, what could be the issue? Which package should we begin the next race with? Indeed, start anew. They might gradually regain control of that car, but not knowing the source of the problem poses a significant challenge.

This process involves perpetual modifications. It requires constant observation of the reaction of something in reality compared to its reaction in the wind tunnel. However, it’s quite challenging due to the multitude of variables. Occasionally, an update may allow for a one-to-one replication of the wind tunnel scenario.

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