Max Verstappen refuses to blame Red Bull struggles on one cause

Max Verstappen has refused to blame all of Red Bull's struggles solely on its wind tunnel, a facility which has come under scrutiny after the opening rounds of the season.  Despite the Dutchman's victory in the Japanese Grand Prix, Verstappen has been adrift of the McLarens, particularly in Bahrain where he had to settle for sixth.  Red Bull has faced a wind tunnel correlation issue, making its on-track performance not representative of what is being seen in the wind tunnel and the simulator.  The team does have a new wind tunnel in-development for 2027, to put an end to its repeating correlation problem. "Of course they [Red Bull] are not entirely happy about that," Verstappen told media including RacingNews365 . "But, of course, we are working on a new wind tunnel. That takes time. It's not as if that's suddenly the case this season.  “That was also the case in 2023, that sometimes you can't see certain things quite right in the wind tunnel."

Confidence in Red Bull upgrades

Despite the issues with its wind tunnel which was originally built post-World War II, Red Bull continues to use it to produce upgrades for its challengers.  It introduced upgrades at last weekend's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, which Verstappen voiced confidence in due to the team knowing how to work around the correlation issue. "Because they have experience with the fact that the wind tunnel doesn't always quite show how things should be done," Verstappen explained.  "They do have a direction when it comes to which way to go, partly because of the experience with the wind tunnel.  "The problem is just that sometimes they don't get the little details quite perfect. That's trying a little bit on the track." The four-time world champion is certain the wind tunnel is not Red Bull's only problem and should not be a concern for next year's new power unit regulations. As recognised by Verstappen, the Milton Keynes-based outfit has designed several strong cars despite its ageing facility. "It also worked out well in 2022 and 2023, with the new regulations. It's the same wind tunnel...." said Verstappen. "In 2021, of course, we also had a fairly strong car, a different generation. And also in 2014, 2015 and 2016 we had a very good car, only the engine didn't. I wouldn't put everything on that myself."