Ex-F1 driver makes ‘top of Everest’ remark following Red Bull’s 2024 failure against McLaren

McLaren amassed 666 points in the 2024 constructors' championship in comparison to Red Bull's 589.


Ex-F1 driver makes ‘top of Everest’ remark following Red Bull’s 2024 failure against McLaren

Max Verstappen and Lando Norris (via IMAGO)

The Red Bull Formula 1 team proved second best against the might of the Woking-based McLaren in the 2024 season. Lando Norris and Co. started putting huge pressure on its rivals from Miami GP onwards, and ultimately, amassed the constructors’ title for the first time since 1998.

In light of this, the Ex-Red Bull driver David Coulthard has insisted that it is difficult to maintain certain standards in F1. During the ongoing ground-effect era, the Milton-Keynes-based team proved to be the top dog in the sport until the end of the 2023 campaign.

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I’ve been around long enough to know that just because you’ve won in the past doesn’t mean it stays that way. 2023 was such a dominant year. When you are already so close to the top of Everest, it is just very difficult to make changes.

David Coulthard via Motorsport-total

In the 2023 F1 season, Red Bull amassed a staggering 21 Grand Prix wins. The RB19 operated in a league of its own and rivals such as Mercedes, Ferrari, and McLaren simply did not have any answer. In contrast, the Milton-Keynes-based team was only able to amass nine wins this year.

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Red Bull followed a ‘clear direction’ with the inconsistent RB20

Max Verstappen‘s Red Bull amassed 589 points in the 2024 F1 season. This was nowhere near Ferrari’s 652 and the Woking-based McLaren’s 666. However, despite this, David Coulthard feels the Austrian outfit followed a solid direction with the RB20.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen, Christian Horner and Helmut Marko (via IMAGO)
Helmut Marko, Max Verstappen and Christian Horner (via IMAGO)

There was clearly a path, a direction they were taking with the car, with which they still won nine races. More than anyone else.

David Coulthard via the same interview

The RB20 had bouncing issues as well as raw-pace issues in the 2024 F1 season. Moreover, Verstappen and Co. especially struggled to get the maximum out of the car during the high-intensity qualifying sessions.

The 2025 season is the last campaign that will be run under the ground-effect regulations. McLaren made a huge jump in 2024 and is thus, going to be the favorite next year.

The papaya outfit’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri will do everything in their power to make sure that one of them lifts the coveted trophy instead of Verstappen. McLaren last won the driver’s title in 2008 with the seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton behind the wheel of their challenger.