The Red Bull team had a major setback in the 2024 Formula 1 season despite Max Verstappen retaining his driver's title for the fourth time. The Milton Keynes squad lost its most important constructors championship to McLaren who surged to the top winning the title after 26 years since the 1998 season.
Verstappen is the only driver who saved the team from an even major setback this year. So, What went wrong for them? And What worked for them? Let's analyse this in this article.
Red Bull F1 2024 Team Analysis
McLaren’s Sudden Rise
The Austrian team was on cloud nine for the last two years as their biggest rivals like Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren couldn't reach them in terms of pace and performance. But this year it all changed with McLaren’s sudden rise with some new upgrades after the Miami Grand Prix. Verstappen was winning most of the races until the Spanish Grand Prix.
After that McLaren became the new fastest car on the grid pushing Max Verstappen behind and leaving him winless for 10 races. Red Bull also had major issues with their car's balance and performance. McLaren dominated them with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri scoring points continuously for their team while in Red Bull Max was the only major point scorer and contributor. Their other driver Sergio Perez struggled with his car all year and is now out of the team as Liam Lawson replaces him.
Also Read: Aston Martin F1 2024 Team Analysis: Alonso and Newey bring Positivity to Inconsistency and Pace challenges
Losing Key Members to Rivals
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner faced a sexual allegation earlier this year that was lodged against him by female staff from his team. After an independent investigation, he was cleared of all the allegations. But it created a rift in the management. Verstappen’s father Jos Verstappen was not happy with him leading the team and he openly criticised Horner many times.
They also had setbacks after losing key members like Formula 1’s greatest designer Adrian Newey to Aston Martin and sporting director Jonathan Wheatley to Audi F1. There are some speculations that many support staff will leave the team by the end of this year which is at a threatening level according to Jos Verstappen. It could also be the start of the biggest downfall for the 6-time constructors and 8-time driver champions.
Max Verstappen becomes ‘The Phenom’
The only thing Red Bull can be happy about this year is, having the greatest driver on the grid Max Verstappen by their side. It may be overwhelming to say ‘Max Verstappen is one of the all-time greats in F1’ but it is what it is. He won 18 races out of 24 with 21 podiums and 12 pole positions despite Red Bull being the third-fastest car on the grid.
Max took an early advantage in the first half by winning most of the races and was leading the championship. After the Spanish Grand Prix, McLaren started dominating Red Bull as Lando Norris became a big threat for Max Verstappen’s 4th title.
He was also heavily grilled for his behaviour and racing techniques by fans and F1 pundits. Max took every hit on his chin and displayed one of the greatest ever skills in racing history. The Interlagos circuit in Brazil was nearly floating like a river due to heavy rain and many drivers couldn't even keep their cars on the track as many corners had water logs, many drivers crashed their cars heavily and some went unrepairable.
The Dutchman showed some great mastery in the rain. He drove his car like a speed boat with great control and bravery, passed everyone on the track and won the race with a 20+ seconds lead. It made him ‘The Phenom’ in F1 and we are hoping to see many of these in the coming years. Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc said after the Brazilian race, “It was not the car which made the difference, it was Max who made the difference” which to some extent is real.
Also Read: Mercedes F1 2024 Team Analysis: Found the Midas Touch, but Hamilton’s Ferrari Move Could Be a Major Blow
Sergio Perez’s unknown struggle
The Milton Keynes squad lost their constructors championship because of Checo’s poor form. He was struggling with an unknown issue. Even team principal Christian Horner was confused as his and Max's cars had similar setups.
He finished 8th in the driver's championship with just 152 points while his teammate topped the table with 437 points. He only scored 9 points in the last 8 races which is very low for a big team driver and retired 4 times which added fuel to the fire.
Also Read: Sergio Perez's Red Bull Journey ends bitterly after disappointing 2024 season
What's next for the team?
The team announced Liam Lawson as their new driver and teammate for Max next year as Perez and Red Bull parted ways. They will face tough competition in 2025 as the big teams McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes all will come with their full strength to challenge Red Bull. This year's learnings and additional wind tunnel test times for finishing third can help them develop the car, sort out the issue and give Verstappen a championship-winning machine next year.
ALSO WATCH: Max Verstappen gets emotional after Sergio Perez’s Red Bull exit
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