Horner: Both F1 titles are under absolute pressure

After finishing sixth for Red Bull on Sunday, Verstappen told reporters at Monza, that his RB20 car had become a monster and felt both F1 titles were now at risk.

After a tense 75th edition of the great race, Horner told media in the Monza paddock: "I think this circuit has exposed the deficiencies that we have in the car versus last year. You can see that we have a disconnection in balance that just isn't working.

"As soon as you end up in that situation, you're harder on tyres. You end up compensating, you move the balance around, you secure one problem, and you create another. So you just end up in a vicious circle. I think it's been there for some time.

"I think, actually, going through the data, there were issues there at the beginning of the year in the characteristic. Others have obviously made a step, and as we've pushed the package harder, it's exposed the issue," explained Horner.

Some of that, he added, had been seen as far back as Austin last year when Red Bull were three races into a seven-race winning run.

The Briton said Verstappen and teammate Sergio Perez had tried to compensate by calming the rear of the car, but that had consequences for the front, resulting in understeer and excessive tyre wear.

Horner said Ferrari winning rather than McLaren was a help, but Red Bull needed to find a quick solution or suffer the consequences: "Based on today's performance, you'd say both titles are under absolute pressure. We were the fourth fastest car, and that's the reality. We've got to turn it around."

Horner recognised there was a discrepancy between the data emerging from the wind tunnel and that seen at the track but said the McLaren appeared to be simpler and more effective: "Perhaps we've gone a little too complex, and perhaps we need to simplify a few things.

"When the car is in the (performance) window, it works as predicted or closer to prediction. But that window is so small; that's what we have to work on. We have to broaden its operating window," revealed Horner.

Despite Verstappen's concern, Horner said the champion was showing no sign of panic: "He's working with the engineers; he's explaining very clearly where the issues are; he's putting the time and effort in.

"He was in early this morning; he was on Zoom calls last week; he'll be on the simulator before the next race, and he's really working hard at this," reported the Red Bull F1 team boss.