Red Bull must “rebuild” and “heads will roll” before Christian Horner’s team can think about winning Formula 1 titles again.
That is the view of former racer Ralf Schumacher. The Sky Deutschland pundit was speaking at the Italian Grand Prix at which the team struggled especially, with Max Verstappen only able to finish down in sixth, two places ahead of team-mate Sergio Perez.
Red Bull are just eight points ahead of McLaren in the constructors’ championship and, with the Woking-based outfit in much better form, will most likely be overtaken next time out in Baku. And while Verstappen’s advantage over Lando Norris is more substantial at 62 points, he has expressed concerns over his own title chances too.
The Dutchman said: “It doesn’t matter where we are [racing] at the moment, we are bad everywhere, so we need a lot of changes. At the moment, both championships are not realistic.”
That is a view shared by Sky Germany pundit Schumacher. Speaking after the Monza race weekend, the six-time F1 race winner said: “For me, Red Bull is finished for now. There is uncertainty and more heads will roll because of that uncertainty and because they are dissatisfied.
“Next, they have to start rebuilding first with new people and with the people who remain. Of course, they will come under enormous pressure from all sides. This is going to cause a chain reaction and these are all factors that are coming into play now, and Formula 1 moves too fast.
“I have rarely seen a team that has deteriorated so much during the season. I can’t think of any other example. We will soon go to circuits with more downforce, which seemingly suits Red Bull better, but even there this problem will keep coming back.”
Fellow German Nico Rosberg agrees with Schumacher and has pointed to the part of the situation which, for him, is the most worrying. The 2016 champion said: “The situation is tough – because they don’t understand it. That’s the big problem. If you at least understood it, it would be different.
“They’re going further and further backwards and other teams like McLaren are doing a phenomenal job. It’s true – you would never have thought it after the first races – that Red Bull can still lose both world championships. It’s really frightening for them internally.”
Team principal Horner knows the pressure is on and said: “Everyone is fully aware of the situation – points don’t lie. We have to turn things around and do it relatively quickly.”
