The Formula World Championship has heated up this year. Initially, many believed 2 time world champion Max Verstappen would yet again dominate the grid. However the entire year has been a rollercoaster with multiple different race winners from different teams. But how did this happen?

The root of Max’s issues lie with his team, Redbull. While they have given him a competitive edge last season, they have underperformed this season. Particularly, their car, RB20, is not up to par.

“We had a car that was very strong in quali and then the weakest that we’ve been has been really on the Hard tyre with a bit too much understeer throughout the race,” stated Christian Horner, Red Bull Racing’s Team Boss.

The car is not what it used to be. This can also be attributed to F1 regulations to increase competition. Since Redbull is the reigning champions, they received less time to develop their car in the wind tunnel.

The pressure could simply also be mounting on the team. Verstappen is increasingly more and more irritable during races. The team could simply be in a slump.

Other teams have already taken advantage of their failures. Mclaren, arguably the most competitive team next to Red Bull, is leading the charge to challenge Max Verstappen’s throne. Their driver, Lando Norris, is only 47 points behind Verstappen. That’s about 2 race wins.

Last week’s Mexico GP resulted in a win for Ferrari, another of Red Bull’s rivals. Now with the Brazilian GP next month, Max’s championship is still all but certain. So the question remains, how will Red Bull respond?