Red Bull team boss Christian Horner says his drivers are caught in a “vicious circle” due to the balance problems of their RB20 Formula 1 car.

World Championship leader Max Verstappen fears he could lose this year’s title due to Red Bull’s difficulties with its 2024 F1 challenger.

After finishing sixth at the Italian GP, ​​Verstappen said the team’s development directions over the past 12 months had led to a drop in form.

“Last year we had a great car, the most dominant car ever, and we basically turned it into a monster,” he said, after claiming it was unrealistic to believe he could now maintain his championship lead.

Horner spoke openly about the difficulties his team is facing, explaining that fixing problems in one area of ​​the car only leads to problems arising in another area.

“We have an imbalance that simply doesn’t work,” he revealed.

“As soon as you’re in that situation, you start to go harder on the tires. Then you have to compensate, you shift the balance, you secure one problem and create another. So you just end up in a vicious circle.”

Although Red Bull was the only one not to use a Monza-specific low-dowforce wing last weekend, Horner says that was not really a major factor in the difficulties.

“I think it’s more about balance,” he said. “100% balance. We have no connection between the front and the back.”

“I don’t think Max or Checo can lean back when entering the corner. And then you have to compensate for that. That’s when understeer occurs. And that’s a very fine line.”

Christian Horner, team boss, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

“You can see that in qualifying. On a worn-out tire with balancing we were able to do 19.6, which was the best time. Then we put on two new sets of tires, the balancing got completely out of control and we were four and a half tenths slower.”

Red Bull has spent the last two weekends at Zandvoort and Monza trying to figure out what is wrong with its car, including experiments with the underbody, but it still doesn’t have any clear answers.

But with his title rival McLaren now looking competitive on all types of circuits – even those where it wasn’t fast 12 months ago – Horner admits the pressure is mounting on Red Bull to find a quick solution.

“At our pace (in Italy), both championships are certainly under pressure,” he said.

“We need to turn the situation around very quickly. I think this track has exposed the shortcomings of our car compared to last year.”

“We have a very clear problem that became apparent this weekend. We know we have to get a handle on it and address it, otherwise we are putting ourselves under enormous pressure.”

But given the long development times in Formula 1, time is of the essence for Red Bull if the team does not want to risk McLaren and Lando Norris closing in on its deficit in the constructors’ and drivers’ championships.

“I think the most important thing is to understand the problem,” Horner added. “And then I think there are certain solutions that can potentially be put in place.”

“They may not solve the whole problem, but they will address some of it. We now have a two-week deadline before Baku and Singapore, and then we have a mini-break where we can work between Singapore and Austin. Time is of the essence now.”