After a blistering start to the season with four wins in five races, Red Bull and Max Verstappen have encountered a significant downturn in form. The reigning champion has now endured a four-race victory drought, his longest since 2020.

Verstappen’s frustration boiled over in Hungary where he publicly criticized the team’s upgrades, claiming they were “not good enough.” The Dutchman highlighted the car’s delicate balance and insisted that Red Bull needs to “improve.”

Although the team acknowledges performance issues with the RB20, the tight schedule leading into the summer break means a quick fix is unlikely.

As F1 resumes in the Netherlands this week, Verstappen will be eager to reclaim winning form in front of his home crowd while maintaining his 78-point championship lead over Lando Norris.

In a recent media interview, Verstappen said:

“We have to solve our problems and find out where the problem lies, because we no longer have the balance in the car if you compare the current situation with the first three races. But it is difficult to estimate how quickly that will happen.”

“balance-wise everything is really on the edge, I do think that some people need to wake up a little. I probably push harder than I did last year, it’s just not coming any more. to have these like great lap times. So then I guess it just means that we are a bit slower and we have work to do. Simple as that.”