Despite being on the podium for the past three years straight, the Mexican Grand Prix 2024 did not go well for Max Verstappen or his team; Red Bull. After a hard weekend, both Verstappen and team principal Christian Horner reflected on what the issues may have been. Neither of the Red Bull drivers made it onto the podium. The reason? Lack of race pace.
At the beginning of the season, it seemed as if we might have a repeat of 2023’s Red Bull domination. Verstappen has won the most race wins this season with 7 under his belt so far. However, the RB20 is not as promising anymore. Red Bull has continuously struggled as the season has developed with no upgrades fixing their issues as of yet.
Max Verstappen not happy with RB20’s race pace
During the Mexican Grand Prix, Max Verstappen and Lando Norris faced off once again. The moves that Verstappen used during the battle caused him to receive two 10-second penalties. When Verstappen pitted, he served his 20-second time penalty. This put him coming out in P15. Verstappen spent the rest of the race attempting to catch up.
A bad day lacking race pace. I know we can do much better, so let’s keep pushing 💪 Onwards to Brazil! pic.twitter.com/nACBg7Emrj
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) October 28, 2024
To the media after the race, Verstappen talked about how he felt the real issue was with Red Bull’s race pace. He said, “What I worry about is the race pace. It was not good and is something we need to analyse” (Verstappen.com). While Verstappen did manage to fight his way back into the top 10, he also said that because of their race pace, he never had an opportunity to win the race.
Christian Horner shifts focus to fixing the pace for Interlagos
Christian Horner also weighed in on Max Verstappen’s situation. As he talked about the penalties Verstappen received he switched his focus to the car pace. Horner noted that the real problem was that “we just didn’t have the pace” (Sky Sports) and that that was more important than the penalties. With the Brazilian Grand Prix only five days away, Horner has said that fixing the race pace is where they will be focusing their energy.
📊 RACE PACE #MexicoGP
SAI just 0.05s/lap quicker than NOR! (Who suffered the initial gap)
VER was no quicker than HAM: what a difference vs season-start!
MAG as quick as (traffic-hit) PIA
Change vs ’23 (s/lap)
McL: -2.33📈
Ferrari: -2.20📈
Merc: -1.45👌
RBR: -1.03🚨It’s… pic.twitter.com/xGBbB63vHL
— Formula Data Analysis (@FDataAnalysis) October 27, 2024
Red Bull also suffered with their other driver, Sergio Perez. Perez had a hard time after also receiving a penalty for being over the gearbox line. Like Verstappen, he served his time penalty during his pitstop. Unlike Verstappen, he did not make his way to the points.
Is Red Bull’s race pace truly to blame for the driver’s performances at the Mexican Grand Prix?
