£615m F1 team will ‘plummet like a stone’ if they don’t understand updates by Belgian GP

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One of the most interesting aspects of this season is how each team is implementing the necessary updates to their cars at each race weekend.

Red Bull were utterly dominant in 2023, but the 2024 campaign has proved that a couple of key development decisions can make all the difference on the track.

McLaren and Mercedes now appear to be just as quick as the current Constructors’ champions, while Ferrari’s latest update has proved to be a step backwards despite sitting 2^nd in the standings.

Speaking on the Pit Talk Podcast, journalist Mat Coch was talking about another team who have been struggling recently.

The Formula 1 midfield is another fascinating fight going on at the moment, with every team except Sauber scoring points in the last two races.

Haas appear to be going from strength to strength with every update they’re producing and Nico Hulkenberg is reaping the benefits.

On the other side of the coin, Aston Martin have failed to kick on after a decent start to the season with their 10-point haul at Silverstone only the second time since the Australian Grand Prix where both drivers have scored points.

However, one of the most troubling teams in recent races have been RB, who are in the midst of deciding what to do with their driver line-up.

READ MORE: Visa Cash App RB driver Yuki Tsunoda’s life outside F1 from height to parents

While Yuki Tsunoda has had a fantastic campaign, he’s now dropped out of the top ten in the Drivers’ Championship while Daniel Ricciardo’s return to F1 hasn’t gone as well as expected.

Coch has warned that if the £615m-valued team can’t work out what’s going wrong with their recent updates by the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa then they could be in real trouble in the second half of the season.

The update RB delivered in Spain was expected to be their most important of the season.

Unfortunately, it’s forced both drivers to experiment with their setups each weekend.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Visa Cash App RB F1 Team from team principal to Red Bull relationship

RB could ‘plummet’ if they don’t work out their update package by Belgian Grand Prix

Talking about RB’s recent fortunes and the implications of what will happen if they can’t work out their most recent update package, Coch said: “I mean this is a critical weekend for RB, not in terms of the result and the need to score points, but the need to get on top of these upgrades.

“Since whatever they bolted on in Spain, the car’s gone backwards.

“They arrived in Austria with a bit of a mismatch, they almost ran back-to-backs with mismatched parts to try and get an idea and a grip on where they’ve gone wrong which in itself is highly alarming.

“What Formula 1 team goes to a track and says, ‘We don’t know what the issue is, let’s just try a bit of everything.’

“There were positive signs in the race for Daniel Ricciardo, the British Grand Prix, again they were nowhere and that’s a concern.

“But the biggest concern here is those updates and the correlation issue that they clearly have.

“If they don’t understand after the Belgian Grand Prix what is going on with those upgrades, I would expect that team to plummet like a stone in the back half of the year.

“How can you bring upgrades if you’re not confident in what you’re bringing adding performance?”

READ MORE: Visa Cash App RB driver Daniel Ricciardo’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda at different points in their Formula 1 careers

RB are a Formula 1 team that knows that long-term stability is simply never going to exist.

The team has been created to produce drivers for Red Bull with the aim for their most talented prospects to eventually earn that promotion.

Speaking ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix, Tsunoda has suggested that he’s ready to make the step up to drive for Red Bull.

On the other side of the garage, Ricciardo is fighting to save his seat on the grid.

Ricciardo was forced to make an interesting set-up choice in Austria and it paid off as he scored points when Tsunoda couldn’t.

However, both drivers would prefer the car to be easier to drive and produce the performance increase that the update was expected to, rather than having to experiment with the car each time they take to a different track.