Can Red Bull tame its 'undriveable monster' to save Verstappen's title bid?

"Undriveable". "A monster". Words you thought you would never hear from Max Verstappen about his Red Bull just over four months since a crushing victory in China where he described the RB20 as "on rails".

Yet 11 grands prix later, and there was Verstappen, in the written media pen at Monza following another chastening experience at the wheel of a severely unbalanced car, delivering his damning verdict that has left him staring down the barrel of the once unthinkable prospect of failing to win a fourth consecutive F1 drivers' title.

Verstappen conceded to being stunned by the fact that a team which handed him the most dominant car in F1 history last season could have taken such a wrong turn this year and headed down the cul-de-sac where it now finds itself, desperately searching for a way out.

The Dutch driver still holds a healthy 62-point cushion over Lando Norris, who, as team principal Andrea Stella confirmed post-Italian Grand Prix, will now be prioritised by McLaren to win both championships with eight races and three sprints remaining.

Yet the fact Red Bull slipped to the fourth fastest team at the 'Temple of Speed' has placed that advantage under serious threat and could be as easily as eroded as has its once handsome lead in the constructors' championship that stood at 114 points over McLaren after Imola but has now been slashed to just eight.

The speed at which Red Bull has fallen from grace so alarmingly has even caught team principal Christian Horner by surprise. As he pointed out, however, as quickly as the downturn has occurred, it could easily be reversed as swiftly.

But is that genuinely possible given there are just the eight races and three months remaining?

Red Bull currently "in a vicious circle"

Horner eye-openingly revealed that the balance issues initially materialised in last year's United States Grand Prix, an event won by Verstappen, and was the third of a seven-race victory season-ending streak to emphatically seal his third drivers' crown.

That it carried over into the more aggressively-styled RB20 for this season is surprising, with Horner confirming that it was Miami where the alarm bells started to ring.

Further victories followed in Imola, Montreal and Barcelona, albeit masking the underlying problems that were beginning to rear their ugly head as the team applied updates.

Horner has now conceded this year's car, rather than being an evolution of the RB19, a route taken by rivals McLaren from the MCL60 to the MCL38, is "a little too complex", and that it has "to simplify a few things".

The over-riding issue is one of balance, and the disconnect between the front and the rear of the car which "isn't allowing the drivers to commit to corner entry, so as soon as you calm down the rear you compromise the front, you end up with understeer and you kill the tyres".

As Horner added, "you secure one problem, you create another, so you just end up in a vicious circle".

The situation is further complicated by the fact the data Red Bull is receiving from its CFD, windtunnel, and then the track, do not correlate, leading to a distrust of its tools and a need to revert to historic data to then compare with the present.

The current windtunnel is antiquated, and has often been a painful point of reference made by Horner in the past, although he has said that whilst it "has its limitations", he does not feel that on this occasion "it is a contributor".

Newey not a factor

Similarly, he has dismissed the exit of Adrian Newey following the Miami Grand Prix as playing a part, stating that "one man's input could never be so dramatic, so quickly".

Verstappen has called for the car to be "turned upside down" to find a fix, albeit with the clock counting down on the number of races remaining.

There are extended gaps on the horizon in which to work, notably after the upcoming double-header in Baku and Singapore prior to the triple-header in the Americas, and again after that burst of races ahead of the concluding triple-header in Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

The aim will be to broaden the operating window of the car as it is small at present. The concern, though, is that whilst "there are certain fixes that can potentially be introduced," according to Horner, they are unlikely "to resolve the whole issue", but only "address some of it".

To that end, the "monster" of a car referred to by Verstappen appears as if it may only be tamed to a certain extent.

With both titles "under absolute pressure", noted Horner, and with McLaren and Ferrari heading in the right direction with their development, the reign of Red Bull and Verstappen as F1 kings would appear to be drawing to a close.