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The coming weeks have been described as “critical” by Red Bull Racing team boss Christian Horner.
His comments come as his squad faces an increasing challenge from McLaren in both the constructors’ and drivers’ championships.
Red Bull Racing holds just an eight-point lead over McLaren at the top of the team’s title fight having once enjoyed a 115-point margin over the Woking squad.
The increasing pressure has also seen Max Verstappen concede that his position atop the drivers’ standings is also far from secure, even if Lando Norris remains 62 points adrift.
“We’re under pressure to turn it around,” Horner conceded.
“Nobody puts ourselves under more pressure than ourselves because finishing sixth hurts.
“The reality was Ferrari helped us out a little bit [in Monza] as did the fighting between the two McLaren drivers; otherwise the drivers’ championship, there could have been another chunk of points taken out.”
Horner believes a balance issue with the car is preventing Verstappen and Sergio Perez from extracting its full potential.
Those issues began to rear their head in the latter part of 2023 but have only become obvious as Red Bull Racing’s advantage at the head of the pack as been eroded this season.
The challenge now facing the Milton Keynes operation is not only understanding the issues it faces but engineering them out such that it regains its footing atop the championship standings.
All the while, rivals continue to improve with each passing event.
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Following the mid-season break, Formula 1 took in back-to-back events in the Netherlands and Italy, with two more in successive weeks to follow in Azerbaijan and Singapore starting this weekend.
A second break then follows with another three-week hiatus before the championship resumes at the United States Grand Prix in October.
“The most important thing is understanding the issue,” Horner reasoned.
“I think there are certain fixes that potentially can be introduced, perhaps not to resolve the whole issue but to address some of it.
“We’ve now got a two-week period before Baku and Singapore, and then we have another mini break, but that we can work in, between Singapore and Austin.
“This time now is crucial.”
Verstappen is engaging with engineers as he looks to secure a fourth drivers’ championship.
That has seen the Dutchman spend more time at the track, dial in to engineering meetings between races, and spend time on the simulator.
“What’s really impressed with Max is how he’s really engaged in the process,” Horner said.
“He’s not panicking, he’s working with the engineers, he’s explaining very clearly where the issues are, putting the time and effort in.
“I think he’s shown great maturity as a world champion [in] the way he’s working with the engineering group.
“Nobody likes the situation they’re in at the moment, nobody’s happy with it, and we’ve got to work really hard to turn it around.
“But one thing this team has is strength in depth and talent.”
