The Canadian GP could be another tough encounter for Red Bull and the RB20. Twelve months ago, Max Verstappen managed to fend off Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton for victory. However, the Dutchman’s win was accompanied by set-up issues throughout the weekend. This year, the reigning Champions have far stronger adversaries (Ferrari and McLaren) to capitalise on their deficiencies.
Red Bull’s messaging after the Monaco GP is somewhat conflicting. On one hand, Christian Horner is confident his team can bounce back in Montreal. Elsewhere, Max Verstappen and Helmut Marko have given more pessimistic forecasts.
Verstappen explained in Monte Carlo that Red Bull’s issues are not new. Instead, the three-time Champion outlined that a “fundamental” issue is being exposed by a closer chasing pack. Last year’s advantage masked the team’s difficulty in navigating kerbs and bumps.
With such fine margins separating the top three, even small blips in performance will be hard to disguise.
MARKO BELIEVES RED BULL ARE VULNERABLE
Helmut Marko is similarly concerned. The 81-year-old expects Red Bull to be more vulnerable moving forward:
“The problem starts in the simulator, which signalled that the car was going over the curbs perfectly,” he wrote for Speedweek.
“Simply put, that means the simulator and reality don’t correlate…
“We are optimistic we can at least find out why the simulator produces data that does not correspond to reality.
“But Montreal could also be a difficult weekend for us.”
In a broad sense, Red Bull has struggled at street circuits in 2024. Although correlation does not equal causation in this case, Canada’s street circuit should present familiar headaches for the RB20.
Not only is this an issue for Max Verstappen’s Championship hopes, but also for Red Bull’s position in the Constructors. Ferrari are only 24 points behind in the standings. Just last weekend, the Scuderia gained 32 points on Christian Horner’s team.
Therefore, the situation at Milton Keynes is more uncomfortable than usual. There is certainly no cause for alarm, but limitations previously obscured by their dominance are being revealed.
The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve has no shortage of aggressive kerbs and bumps to navigate. If anything, being able to ride kerbs is an essential part of being successful at the Canadian GP.
Considering that Ferrari and McLaren do not suffer from this vulnerability, the ninth round of the season could be another tight battle at the front.
