Silverstone has exposed one ‘killer’ Red Bull problem that might impact Max Verstappen at the British Grand Prix

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Max Verstappen stormed to an impressive pole position at Silverstone after a nightmare Friday practice, in which his Red Bull looked difficult to drive.

It has been a cut-and-paste story throughout the season so far for Verstappen and Red Bull; Friday, it all falls apart. Saturday, they’re back in the hunt.

This is because Red Bull does a lot of work on their simulator overnight to optimise their car performance, and Christian Horner was quick to point out after the practice sessions that both Luffield and Maggotts and Becketts were causing them headaches.

Red Bull sought a ‘last resort’ solution that is both tailored to Verstappen’s driving style and keeps the tyre temperatures under control. But it might be a problem that rears its head later in the season.

Red Bull dealing with ‘killer’ understeer problem at British Grand Prix

Verstappen has been vocal about Red Bull’s car problems at recent races after they have failed to match McLaren, and at Silverstone they have been dealing with ‘killer’ car trait that impacts them the most according to journalist Michael Schmidt when speaking on the Formel Schmidt podcast.

“They had a massive understeer yesterday and Verstappen complained about it, which is normal, but understeer is more or less the killer for him,” said Schmidt.

“Red Bull said ‘Well, we can’t make the front wing any steeper because otherwise we’ll block the underbody. And if we don’t have any downforce at the front wing, then there won’t be any at the rear either.’

“They pulled a front wing out of their hat with little downforce that they tested a while ago and that helped. The car was suddenly balanced with little downforce.

“There are a lot of fast corners at Silverstone, but they are flat anyway; what you need is the wind to generate the downforce, and that was coming from the front. That’s why it worked out.”

Red Bull’s ‘killer’ RB21 problem might impact them at upcoming races

Silverstone is one of the unique tracks on the calendar because it is effectively a disused airfield, so the winds tend to be higher than at other circuits.

The wind speed peaked at 11mph during qualifying, with gusts of up to 20mph as the session progressed.

Red Bull’s solution at Silverstone appears to only take into account the unique nature of the track, something that will be less present at Spa Francorchamps, Hungary, and Zandvoort.

Spa will be of particular concern for Red Bull, given that the circuit features a mix of high-speed corners that require a balanced aero package. If they have reached their peak already at Silverstone, it could be one of their worst tracks of the year.