Simon Lazenby challenges Christian Horner after what he said about McLaren at US Grand Prix

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Red Bull are coming under increased pressure to defend their championships from McLaren as the 2024 season heads into the final six races.

Defending three-time champion Max Verstappen holds a 52-point lead over Lando Norris going into the United States Grand Prix after the Dutchman has struggled to find performance in his RB20.

Verstappen has not claimed victory since the Spanish Grand Prix nine races ago and has not taken pole position since Spielberg and he and teammate Sergio Perez have struggled to keep up with McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes as they close the gap to the Milton Keynes squad.

In the time since Verstappen’s last win, Norris has claimed five podiums, with two wins coming at Zandvoort and Singapore in dominant fashion as the Brit took advantage of his McLaren’s pace to win by more than 20 seconds in both races.

It is clear that Red Bull need to find a competitive edge over their rivals, but even that has come under controversy. The team have a tool in the cockpit of the car that allows their drivers to change the ride height at the front of their machine, leaving their rivals questioning whether they have breached the regulations.

The Milton Keynes outfit have claimed that the part is ‘inaccessible once the car is fully assembled’ but McLaren CEO Zak Brown said Red Bull’s explanation ‘doesn’t stack up’ as teams are allowed to disassemble their car in parc ferme.

Simon Lazenby challenges Christian Horner over claims that McLaren changed their rear wing in Austin

McLaren also came under fire at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix for their modifications to their car as their rear wing was seen slightly rotating and opening up the slot gap to create a ‘mini-DRS’ effect.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner seemed to think that their championship rivals had changed their rear wing in the wake of the controversy, but Simon Lazenby told Horner on Sky Sports F1 before Sprint Qualifying in Austin that ‘that’s not the case.”

Speaking about his rivals’ upgrades, Horner said: “Well look, there was an awful lot of noise about rear wings. The McLaren had to change their rear wing yesterday.”

Lazenby swooped in and shut that down by saying: “They say that’s not the case. They say that that’s not the case when we’ve spoken to them.”

To which Horner responded: “Really? Ok. Well, look it’s part of Formula 1 and, yeah I’m sure there’ll be other stuff that comes between now and Abu Dhabi.”

What does Max Verstappen have to do to defend his title?

With six rounds remaining in the 2024 season, Verstappen is under increased pressure to secure his fourth consecutive title, but the Dutchman may have built up enough of a gap to hold on over Norris.

Thanks to Daniel Ricciardo’s fastest lap in Singapore, Verstappen can afford to finish in second in every Grand Prix and Sprint, regardless of the fastest lap point bonus, and still win the championship over Norris.

But with McLaren’s surging form and clear advantage over Red Bull at the moment, there is doubt that the Dutchman will be able to achieve that feat, and it will also be a challenge to regain the lead of the Constructors’ Championship.

McLaren have secured a 41-point lead over the Milton Keynes squad heading into Austin and with Red Bull’s difficulties in extracting the maximum from the RB20, it is looking more likely that the Woking squad will secure their first constructors’ title since 1998.