Red Bull mechanic slams ‘conspiracy’ theories over Max Verstappen’s 2024 F1 car

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It’s difficult to pinpoint that Max Verstappen and Red Bull surrendered their dominance in Formula 1. Some would point to Lando Norris’ first-ever victory at the Miami Grand Prix, the race kick-started Verstappen’s current run of three wins in nine.

But the Dutchman responded with victory at Imola two weeks later, albeit by a fractional margin over Norris. After struggling to P6 at Monaco, he then delivered back-to-back wins in Canada and Spain.

Verstappen hasn’t won since, marking his longest drought since 2020. There have been some mitigating circumstances.

He was battling Norris for victory in Austria until he sustained a puncture in their collision (his own mistake, so the stewards said), and he may well have won at Spa without a 10-place grid penalty for an engine change.

Still, the overall picture across this stretch of races is that McLaren have wiped out the gap, if not eeked marginally ahead. A resurgent Mercedes have won three of the last four and aren’t far off the Bulls for outright pace.

Inevitably, this has led some to question whether F1’s other big names have gotten better, or Red Bull have gotten worse. This was a team that produced the most one-sided campaign in F1 history last year, winning 21 out of 22 races.

Red Bull mechanic rejects Peter Windsor’s explanation for team’s decline

Former F1 test Robin Frijns has heard that the FIA ‘found something’ on Red Bull’s car, perhaps after being prompted by rival teams. They then forced the world champions to remove it, leading to a significant loss of pace.

And Peter Windsor suspects Red Bull were running a ‘clever’ brake part that was outlawed before Miami. He says this could explain Verstappen’s recent discomfort behind the wheel.

But in reply to Windsor’s post on X, Red Bull mechanic Calum Nicholas expressed his frustration. He believes some are looking for a ‘conspiracy’ that doesn’t exist.

Instead, McLaren and Mercedes have simply ‘put in the work’ and found solutions. It’s led to one of the most competitive and entertaining F1 seasons in years, even if the convergence may have come too late to stop Verstappen.

“Actually, the only reason I care about this stuff is because really, people should just be giving the other teams the credit they deserve for putting in the work and catching up,” Nicholas wrote. “Not everything has to be some big conspiracy.”

Max Verstappen ‘bothered’ by what he’s seeing at Red Bull right now

Verstappen leads the championship by 78 points heading into his home Grand Prix at Zandvoort. Unless McLaren themselves become a dominant force, that advantage shouldn’t come under any real threat.

But that’s not good enough for the 26-year-old. He may not be concerned by the in-fighting at Red Bull this year, but Verstappen is ‘bothered’ by their struggles (relatively speaking) on track right now.

He demands perfection from both himself and his team, leading to occasionally furious radio messages. Karun Chandhok says Red Bull love Verstappen’s attitude because it drives them to improve.

He hasn’t been beaten at the Dutch GP since it returned to the calendar in 2021. It would therefore feel like an especially significant blow if McLaren denied him, or Mercedes continued their recent hot streak.