Red Bull has introduced at the Hungarian Grand Prix its most substantial upgrade package of the season, and Max Verstappen believes the success of the changes will significantly impact his team’s performance for the remainder of its 2024 campaign.
Red Bull began the year with a dominant RB20, but both McLaren and Mercedes have clawed their way back into contention while Ferrari appears to have regressed recently despite winning two races this year.
While Verstappen and Red Bull lead the driver's and constructor's championships, victories no longer come as effortlessly, and teammate Sergio Perez's inconsistency has opened a window for McLaren in the constructors' race.
Unlike their rivals, Red Bull has struggled to consistently improve their car throughout the season, and Verstappen has been vocal in urging the team to accelerate development.
But Hungary sees their biggest evolution yet, and the Dutchman believes this weekend’s event could be a turning point for the rest of year.
"If this is not giving us some good lap time, then I don't know how the rest of the season is going to evolve,” commented the reigning world champion on Thursday.
"But at the same time, I also don't know what's coming from the other teams, right? So we just focus on ourselves.
"We are bringing quite some things to the car. It is a bit bigger than what we have brought already. And of course, I hope that will give us a bit of lap time."
While this weekend’s package is significant, Verstappen doesn't expect it to completely restore Red Bull's early season dominance.
"Over the last few races we have not had the quickest car," he added.
"So, I don't expect that to suddenly be any different. Hopefully, the upgrades will give us a good boost, but at the moment I just want to see how that will all work this weekend."
Verstappen has previously criticized Red Bull's lack of development compared to their rivals. He acknowledges the limitations imposed by the cost cap and Red Bull's position as the leading team, but refuses to accept a stagnant development trajectory.
If you look at it realistically other teams have made bigger steps, that's very clear," he explained.
"I know that my team is pushing as hard as they can to find performance. These cars are just very complicated and some bits might be also just in the set-up itself.
"At the same time, we need to find more performance. As the leading team you have less time, also in the wind tunnel [but] I'm not using that as an excuse, because I don't want to think like that.
"But the reality is that we have less time and we try to do the best we can."
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