Red Bull still working an unraveling mystery of ‘diva’ RB20

Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko has taken a leaf out of Toto Wolff’s book of aliases to describe the Milton Keynes-based outfit’s RB20, calling its contender a “Diva”.

After a dominant start to its 2024 season, with championship leader Max Verstappen winning five of the first six races, Red Bull now finds itself unraveling the mystery of an aerodynamic issue that has thrown off the balance and predictability of its current challenger.

Marko acknowledged that Red Bull had made a mistake somewhere in the development of its car, a fact that has become more evident as the season has progressed.

"We know we took a wrong turn somewhere," Marko told Motorsport-Total. "We are working hard to come back.

Marko explained that the car’s unpredictable nature was something Red Bull hadn’t anticipated.

"At the beginning of the year, we grabbed three one-twos with a car many people thought was going to be the next series winner,” he added.

"Then we discovered that the car was a bit of a diva - in the words of Toto Wolff."

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The exact nature of the RB20’s problems remains elusive, with the team still searching for the root cause.

Verstappen has repeatedly voiced concerns about the car’s handling, especially after qualifying sessions where he has struggled to extract the performance he knows the car is capable of.

Following a frustrating qualifying session for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the Dutchman, who will start from sixth on the grid, once again pointed to balance issues, while Perez, his teammate, managed to secure fourth but still faced similar challenges.

Marko offered insight into the complexity of the problem, pointing out how small adjustments to the car’s setup can have a ripple effect on its performance.

"If we knew exactly what the problem was, we would have already solved it," stated Marko. "Tuning the chassis has become very complex within the ground-effect regulations.

"The whole concept of the car immediately reacts to every adjustment you make. For example, the tyres grain very quickly. That's what Max is also talking about.”

The Austrian emphasized that the problem is not just about losing competitiveness with minor tweaks; instead, the car’s setup can impact multiple performance factors at once, leading to a cascade of issues.

"The competitiveness does not decrease with a small adjustment, but mainly because it impacts many other factors. Especially if it's not 100 per cent right."

With the team still in search of a solution, Red Bull has opted to avoid rushing into upgrades, especially those that focus on adding more downforce, which could further complicate the situation. Marko is adamant that throwing additional downforce at the RB20 is not the answer at this stage.

"It makes no sense to include updates with more downforce," he insisted. "First the problem with the car has to be solved."

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