Martin Brundle claims Max Verstappen ‘always making the difference’ for Red Bull after second place at Dutch GP

Red Bull began the season as the benchmark and won races with leads extending over ten seconds. On the contrary, in the second half of the campaign, the Austrian giant has tumbled upon the balance beam and has taken a massive slump in performance. However, Red Bull still stays ahead of McLaren in the constructor’s standings by the thinnest of margins, which has led Martin Brundle to assert that Max Verstappen is the only one heading the chariot at Milton Keynes.

Sergio Perez joined Red Bull in 2021 after his career’s most elusive season in Racing Point(now Aston Martin). The Mexican was brought in to end the second driver troubles that have haunted the Austrian giant. However, their concerns were revived again in the 2024 season as the 34-year-old hit a massive slump in performance which aided McLaren and Ferrari to make a charge at Red Bull in the constructor’s standings.

A similar incident was noted at the Dutch GP, where Max Verstappen finished P2 at the sharp end of the grid. While, on the other hand, Perez finished a lonely P6 after losing out to Carlos Sainz, who started the race in 10^th place.

Red Bull are very lucky that they've got Max Verstappen at the moment. He's making the difference. He always did.

Martin Brundle said on the Sky F1 broadcast

This urged former F1 driver turned commentator, Martin Brundle, to claim that Red Bull is saved because of the reigning champion’s presence. Furthermore, this statement resounded in the paddock as Red Bull has been conceding points since the Austrian GP. Thus, the Milton Keynes-based squad would have to justify the presence of the Mexican to the stakeholders, amid the constant fear of losing out in the constructor’s championship

RELATED

Lando Norris surprised Max Verstappen ‘never pushed’ to fight for Dutch GP victory

Max Verstappen & Co. were in damage limitation mode around Zandvoort

Red Bull was not the quickest over one lap and hoped for a miracle to happen in the race. Subsequently, a miracle indeed happened as Lando Norris botched his race start gifting the lead to Verstappen. However, the lead was not retained by the Dutchman for long. The McLaren driver leapfrogged him into turn one at the start of lap 18 causing intra-team tensions to build inside the Red Bull garage.

Moreover, the Austrian manufacturer ran a high-downforce setup around Zandvoort which was not fruitful for the Dutchman.

Yeah, good drive Max[Verstappen], we weren't quick enough today but you get everything there was in the car so well done; damage limitation.

Christian Horner said on the radio to Max Verstappen

Subsequently, witnessing the deficit to McLaren in race pace, Christian Horner asserted that the 26-year-old extracted the full potential of the RB20 to secure the P2. He then claimed this weekend was a damage limitation one as they narrowed the points deficit in the driver’s championship from getting any larger.

On the other hand, McLaren has caught up to Red Bull by 12 points during the Dutch GP weekend. Thus, the Austrian outfit has a task at hand to defend their champion status despite having a single car in the fight.

In case you missed it:

• Charles Leclerc ‘very very happy’ to secure podium finish at Dutch GP amidst Ferrari’s struggles
• Max Verstappen confesses Red Bull ‘not quick enough’ after losing Dutch GP to Lando Norris

Stay Updated!

Join our newsletter to receive exclusive updates and curated insights directly to your inbox.

Subscribe NOW