Red Bull were unrecognisable around the streets of Monaco last weekend. World champion Max Verstappen finished sixth, while Sergio Perez crashed out after a stunning Q1 exit.
Eight points represents the team’s lowest haul since their double DNF at the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix. It was their poorest result with at least one car crossing the line since Hungary 2021.
This was a Red Bull team who had won five out of seven races in 2024 coming into the weekend. They had looked virtually infallible since the start of 2023, the most dominant campaign in F1 history.
But from Friday practice, it was clear that something was amiss. Verstappen reported that the car was on a ‘knife-edge’, and Martin Brundle noticed him complaining in the garage more than he had ‘for a while’.
Perez reported that he was experiencing a ‘horrendous’ ride, and Williams team principal James Vowles observed that he was indeed hitting the ground ‘pretty hard’. In short, the RB20 was struggling to absorb the bumps on F1’s oldest street circuit.
While they found a solution to their practice woes at the previous race in Imola, they couldn’t find a fix this time. That paved the way for Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc to score his first win of the season ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.
Helmut Marko marvels at Charles Leclerc driving at Monaco Grand Prix
Writing in his column for Speedweek, Red Bull executive director Helmut Marko was gracious in defeat. He accepted that Leclerc had been in a ‘class of his own’ on home soil.
The Monegasque had looked like the clear favourite from Friday afternoon onwards and he carried that superiority into qualifying and the race. He’s now cut Verstappen’s lead at the top of the standings to 31 points.
Marko noticed that Leclerc’s SF-24 was almost ‘floating’ over the same kerbs that were causing Red Bull’s drivers so many problems. That advantage proved to be insurmountable.
He wrote: “The eighth GP weekend of the year took place on the street circuit of Monte Carlo, and in the canyons of the principality, local hero Charles Leclerc was in a class of his own. The Ferrari was practically floating over the kerbs in the swimming pool, so he was out of reach.”
Why Max Verstappen is worried about Red Bull at Canadian GP
Red Bull have responded well to their setbacks recently. Last year, the only race they failed to win was the Singapore GP, when Carlos Sainz was the man to capitalise as they found their Kryptonite.
The following weekend in Japan, Verstappen took pole position by nearly six tenths. He would then go on to win the Grand Prix by a whopping 19.4 seconds.
Red Bull also arrived in Suzuka this year looking to reassert themselves after the Dutchman’s mechanical retirement at the Australian GP. Sainz was again the beneficiary in Melbourne as he led a Ferrari one-two.
Verstappen struck back by topping a Red Bull a one-two in both qualifying and the race, with nearest external challenger Sainz 20.8 seconds adrift at the chequered flag. He also made an immediate return to winning ways at Imola after Lando Norris’ victory in Miami, although that was a much closer affair.
As such, McLaren and Ferrari will be braced for a statement when they arrive in Montreal in a week’s time. But Verstappen has predicted further issues given the ‘kerbs and bumps’ of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
Fred Vasseur has noticed the 26-year-old making more errors in recent races after a serene spell of dominance. He feels it’s the inevitable consequence of coming under increased pressure.
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