Red Bull have been enduring a difficult run heading into the final 10 races, but some theories as to why are wildly incorrect.
Red Bull engineer Calum Nicholas has called out Peter Windsor’s ‘bulls**’ theory that an outlawed ‘rear cross-brake inertia valve’ on the RB20 was the cause of Max Verstappen’s frustration with the performance of his Red Bull machine on corner entry.
The 2024 season has been a tale of two halves for Red Bull. The reigning champions won four of the first five races and would have enjoyed a clean sweep if it wasn’t for a mechanical DNF in Melbourne, but after Lando Norris won in Miami, the tables turned.
In the run-up to the summer shutdown, Red Bull collected just three wins from nine races, and Verstappen is now on a four-race winless run – his longest of the ground-effect era thus far. This string of results has allowed McLaren to close within 42 points of the Milton Keynes-based team in the Constructors’ Championship standings.
Taking to the X social media platform, former F1 team manager Peter Windsor presented his theory. “Looks as though RBR might have been running a clever rear cross-brake inertia valve before they were obliged to remove it before Miami,” he stated. “This could explain Max’s RR brake drama in MEL (Melbourne) and his turn-in grief since China.”
This theory received a brutal response from Nicholas, who is very active on social media and is one of the most prominent engineers in the Red Bull garage. “Yea… this is bulls***…. Unsurprisingly,” he hit back. Asked by a fan for his thought process, he replied: “I’ve been building the car for the last 14 races, he hasn’t.”
With Red Bull’s advantage now nullified and both Mercedes and McLaren in regular contention for race wins, Verstappen’s long-term future has been called into question in recent weeks.
The three-time world champion has been linked with moves to both the Silver Arrows and to Aston Martin with long-serving Red Bull engineer Adrian Newey reportedly set to join the latter with an announcement expected in September.
However, Verstappen is not rushing his decision. “I think the most important thing is not to make decisions based on emotion because that will always get you back,” he told Formula.hu. “I’m a patient person myself, I don’t over-worry things.
“Of course, it means a lot and I appreciate the fact that I have a very long history with the team. Loyalty is very important and I think it is not always there in F1. Fortunately, in my case, it is there and I think it is mutual for us. Key people stay with the team and now we have our own engine project.”
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