Max Verstappen has expressed concerns over Red Bull Racing's development challenges, which have led to balance issues with their 2024 car. Despite a strong start to the season for Verstappen and Red Bull, Lando Norris's victory at the Dutch Grand Prix highlighted McLaren's ascension as the fastest team on the grid. Red Bull faced a series of hurdles in May, particularly at the Monaco Grand Prix, which became a sore spot. However, Verstapan noted that the problems extend beyond bumpy tracks, revealing a broader set of issues affecting the car's overall balance, a key strength of Red Bull in previous seasons. These issues appear to have impacted the speed of the RB20 and exacerbated tire wear.

Verstappen stated, “We didn't encounter these kinds of issues in the early races of the season, but certain factors have made the car harder to drive.” He added, “It's difficult to pinpoint the root cause. This affects not only our lap times but also our long-run pace.” He continued, “The limitations have been consistent throughout the weekend, from FP1 to the race, with the same balance setup, making it challenging to address the problem.” He also mentioned, “Our speed seems insufficient, and the performance degradation is severe. It's perplexing, given our past performance in these areas.” Thus, he emphasized, “There have been some issues with the car recently, and we need to identify and rectify them promptly. Currently, the front-to-rear balance is not in sync.”

During the race, although Verstappen overtook pole-sitter Norris at the start, Norris easily passed Verstappen on lap 18, securing his second career victory. Verstappen added, “I stuck to my strategy, trying to protect the tires and doing my best. But once, the car stopped turning or responding. When Lando first closed in, he nearly got past, but not quite.” “On the next lap, there was nothing I could do. Once he made the pass, I focused on finishing the race in second place.” Heading into this weekend's Italian Grand Prix at Monza, Verstappen leads Norris by 70 points in the Drivers' Championship, while McLaren trails Red Bull by 30 points in the Constructors' standings.