Jos Verstappen has taken a swipe at his son’s Red Bull team, urging the latter to focus once again on racing amid signs that the outfit’s prolonged era of dominance in F1 could be over.
Red Bull's grip on Formula 1 seemed unshakeable. After reigning supreme in 2022 and 2023 and securing the Drivers and Constructors’ titles in both years, the tide appears to be turning for the bulls.
And last weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix, dominated by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, exposed cracks in Red Bull's armor.
Throughout the weekend in the Principality, Verstappen struggled for pace, the Dutchman’s efforts hampered by a very unstable RB20 that left him a lowly sixth in qualifying and in the same position on race day, his worst result since the 2022 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Things were even bleaker for his teammate Sergio Perez, who qualified a miserable 18th on Saturday before crashing heavily on the opening lap of the race following a run-in with Haas’ Kevin Magnussen.
These setbacks have shrunk Verstappen's championship lead to a mere 31 points.
Following the race, in an interview with Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, Jos Verstappen didn't mince his words when criticizing Red Bull's performance.
“The era when Red Bull had the dominant car really seems to be over now," Jos Verstappen said.
“Maybe they should start focusing a bit more on racing and mutual communication again, rather than on other things…”
Red Bull’s issues in Monaco appeared to be centered around a lack of compliance of the RB20’s suspension which struggled to cope with the street circuit’s kerbs.
Max Verstappen warned that the problem, while especially specific to Monaco, could manifest itself at other tracks later this season.
Verstappen Sr. says the team needs to get to the bottom of its issues or risk more defeats at the hands of Ferrari and McLaren.
“There will definitely be races where Red Bull will be in good shape again, but I am very curious to see how they are going to solve this. Something really needs to happen there,” he said.
“Red Bull needs to find out where this problem is coming from, because it is clear that teams like Ferrari and McLaren are getting closer.
“Max has still been able to mask that somewhat, but the big difference with Sergio Perez is becoming more and more obvious.”
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