Christian Horner conceded Red Bull Racing have an uphill task to turn things around and return to the dominant form they showed early in the 2024 Formula 1 season.
The 2024 Italian Grand Prix was another tough weekend for Red Bull, the team struggling with their once-dominant RB20 from the word go, with Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez qualifying seventh and eighth.
The race was not any better for the Bulls, as they also struggled for pace, while a botched pit stop made Verstappen's life more difficult, not to mention a power unit issue he was nursing which meant he could not use full power.
Red Bull did not even think of running a one-stop strategy, the one that helped Charles Leclerc win in front of Ferrari's tifosi, as they committed early on to a two-stopper, as they gave Verstappen Hard tyres on his first stop, after starting on the same compound which meant a second stop was mandatory according to the rules that dictate the use of at least two compounds during the race.
"We couldn't have made that one stop work for us today due to our tyre degradation," Horner said after the race, "so for us we got the most of it that we could, and we leave here with a lot of work to do.
Red Bull at a loss trying to understand their problems
"Our strategy worked to a degree but then we started to get into graining ourselves, so the issues we had yesterday [Saturday] were there in the race again.
"I thought Max did a good job and did everything he could to get the most out of it and get sixth," he added. "Checo, likewise, drove a good race today and I think where we finished was the maximum we were going to get.
"Obviously, our performance is a concern right now and the whole Team is working very hard on it. It looks like a balance problem and there needs to be a fix for it, so the Team are working incredibly hard back at the factory to get on top of it. If nothing else, this weekend has really shown where some of our weaknesses are," he explained.
But it was something that Horner said after qualifying at Monza on Friday that showed the extent of the trouble Red Bull find themselves in.
He said in Red Bull's team report: "There is an imbalance in the car, that when you sort one problem you get another, you sort the front and you cause a problem with the rear, you sort the rear and get a problem with the front, it is not connected."
Red Bull have gone seriously wrong with their RB20 as some point, the Imola upgrade package to be precise, and since then have struggled to find their way back.
Are they already suffering from the absence of Adrian Newey? Can Red Bull tame the monster they have created?
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