Former F1 hopeful Robin Frijns has claimed he has also heard the FIA made Red Bull “change” something on the RB20, and that’s responsible for the team losing speed.
But what exactly that something was that they found, or that rivals complained about, he couldn’t say.
‘That’s why Red Bull lost a lot of speed…’
Although Red Bull started this season by picking up where they left off in 2023, claiming four wins in five races, Max Verstappen has added just three in the last nine Grands Prix.
Instead, it has been McLaren who had their moment at the top of the timesheets with the fastest car on the grid, while more recently Mercedes has come to the fore with three wins in the last four races.
Red Bull retain the lead in both championships thanks to their early season form, but McLaren has closed the gap to 42 points in the Constructors’ and Lando Norris 78 points behind Verstappen in the Drivers’ standings.
With Verstappen on a four-race winless streak heading into his home race in Zandvoort, Frijns believes there’s more to the story than McLaren and Mercedes simply winning the development war.
“What’s going on at Red Bull?” the Dutchman wrote in his Formule 1 Magazine column. “In terms of why did they lose so much speed all at once?
“What I’ve heard from the Spanish media is that the FIA found something, or that other teams complained about something specific on the Red Bull car and eventually had to change that too. That’s why they lost a lot of speed.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s true because in Formula 1, things are fierce between the teams, everyone is watching each other. That’s what makes the sport so much fun, I think. Every team tries to discover the grey areas in every field.
“Look at Mercedes, who suddenly came up with the DAS system a few years ago. That was a, let’s say, dark grey area. But things like that are what make Formula 1 so interesting.”
A Red Bull ‘grey area’ but McLaren still deserve credit
But while he reiterated his belief that Red Bull have had to change something on the car, Frijns says McLaren still deserve praise for their performances with the Woking team having “surpassed” Red Bull on the track.
“The fact that McLaren has surpassed Red Bull is also because Red Bull itself had to take a step back. If you lose three-tenths and the competitor gains two-tenths, then that half a second is already explained,” he said.
“It must have been something really big that Red Bull had to change in that grey area.
“That does not alter the fact that it is impressive where McLaren is now. Last year during testing they were nowhere at all and now the car is running like a charm. I think we should not underestimate the influence of team boss Andrea Stella in this.
“You see McLaren growing, this is certainly not an isolated incident. They have two young drivers with Lando and Oscar who have more or less the same driving style. That also helps with development.
“McLaren will do everything they can for the championship. If it really comes to a fight, I think Max will be under more pressure than Lando.
“In Hungary the team made mistakes, Max clearly did not enjoy it, took some risks here and there. If you have a few races like that and Lando benefits, then things can go quickly.
“McLaren has nothing to lose, Red Bull everything.”
