World champion dismisses theories that an FIA rule change on braking systems is responsible for Red Bull’s recent lack of F1 wins.
Max Verstappen has firmly denied that Red Bull has been using an asymmetric braking system, which has been widely speculated following a mid-season technical regulation change and its recent lack of 2024 Formula 1 wins.
The strong curiosity began during the most recent FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting, where, among other amended laws and prospective rule revisions, a change to Article 11.1.2 of F1’s Technical laws was revealed.
This explicitly outlaws “any system or mechanism which can produce systematically or intentionally, asymmetric braking torques for a given axle” .
Because it was an unusual in-season enactment, rumors circulated that one or more teams were running an unlawful system.
Although if this were the case, a Technical Directive would have been issued to all teams, and the FIA denied any team had been running such a system in Motorsport.com’s exclusive story explaining the situation, there was widespread speculation that the rule change must explain why Red Bull has only won three of the last nine races.
This came after the team had won four of the first five races of the season, however the numbers are distorted by Verstappen’s Spa grid penalty, when his chances of victory would have been much improved if he had started on pole in wet qualifying in Belgium.
Verstappen would have likely won the Australian Grand Prix during that early run if it hadn’t been for the brake failure that forced him to retire in Melbourne, adding to doubts about Red Bull’s form in light of the regulation change.
When asked about the regulation change by Motorsport.com before of this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix, Verstappen said, “I’m not sure where that came from. We don’t have that on the automobile either, so we don’t worry about it.
When asked if Red Bull had ever ran anything like such a strategy in 2024, Verstappen replied, “No.”
Verstappen also acknowledged that Red Bull undertook a thorough examination of the health of its RB20 challenger during the recent mid-season summer break, as it seeks to understand how it lost its previously dominant position while still securing another world title double in 2024.
“Absolutely, it happened,” he stated. “We are clearly working hard on that, and we hope to have some answers this weekend.
“From there we’ll go forward, to see what we can still find and what we can improve on the car.”
Verstappen stated “that’s not the case” when asked about Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko’s recent remark to “downgrades” being applied to the RB20 since the start of the season.
“But of course you analyse a lot of things and from there you come up with adjustments,” he further explained. “That process starts here in Zandvoort.”
