Max Verstappen experienced a sensation of racing in Monaco as if he had no suspension at all.
At a time when Red Bull no longer have it all their own way, Max Verstappen says they’ve been “found out” with a weakness that’s been around since “2022” evident in Monaco.
Max Verstappen qualified a lowly, by his standards, P6 at the Monte Carlo street circuit on Saturday where he was just shy of three-tenths down on Charles Leclerc’s pole position time.
Max Verstappen: We have had this problem since 2022
Additional reporting by Sam Cooper
Verstappen’s qualifying streak, which had started from last year’s Abu Dhabi GP, came to an end with eight consecutive wins, putting an end to the reigning World Champion’s reign.
Despite attempting various strategies to maintain his winning streak, the Dutchman acknowledges that Red Bull’s ground-effect aerodynamic cars have been exposed by their competitors narrowing the margin. He went through a range of adjustments with his RB20’s setup, transitioning from a softer to a stiffer configuration.
He informed the media, including PlanetF1.com, that our experience with the car progressed from being soft to stiff, but it resembled a go-kart. It felt as if I was running without any suspension, causing the car to bounce around excessively. It failed to absorb any hits from curbs, bumps, or changes in road surface.
“I found it truly astonishing how many times I nearly collided with the wall while navigating the last corner.”
The problem we are facing now is not a recent occurrence; it has been persisting since 2022.
Naturally, in recent years, we have enjoyed a car advantage, which somewhat conceals our limitations when it comes to corners and obstacles such as kerbs and bumps.
However, as everyone else keeps improving, it is only natural that if you neglect to work on your weakest aspect, you will eventually be exposed, and that is precisely what occurred during this weekend.
He further commented, stating, “Due to its fundamental nature, this issue cannot be resolved in a matter of weeks.”
Verstappen acknowledged Red Bull’s claims about the RB20 improving upon its predecessor but stated that it ultimately did not fulfill those expectations.
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Verstappen explained that the issue with their car is that it fails to effectively absorb any camber changes, which is particularly problematic in Turn 5 during qualifying. This problem is causing him to lose valuable time.
He added, “That’s the point where we waste time. These corners are the ones I previously mentioned, but there are even more corners that we struggle with. We are well aware of our weaknesses and simply navigate through them.”
He reckons Red Bull don’t quite understand the issue and therefore isn’t expecting a solution any time soon.
“He said that we must first grasp the concept because it is evident that we currently lack understanding,” he remarked.
“We will exert great effort to identify and resolve the problem. Although it may not be feasible to accomplish it within this year, we are optimistic about resolving it by next year. If we had been aware of it, we would have certainly rectified the issue, but unfortunately, we were not.”
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