Max Verstappen has accepted that Red Bull is enduring a "more difficult" campaign than the team did in 2023, with the Dutchman recognising that they do not have the "same flow".
Last season was a phenomenal one for Red Bull, who were beaten just once in the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix by Carlos Sainz.
It is a very different story in 2024, with Sainz, Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc having all won a race.
Whilst Verstappen has won six of the first nine rounds, even he has faced setbacks behind the wheel of the RB20, most recently its struggles over bumps and kerbs.
"I think we are also very focused, we are still doing a lot of things right," Verstappen told select media including RacingNews365.
"But for whatever reason, we are not in that same flow as we had last year where everything just seemed to be going really well for us, at most places. No reliability issues.
"And I don't know for whatever reason, it's all a bit more difficult this year. Some things are a bit hard to explain as well."
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Ending 'spiral'
Red Bull has faced stiff competition in the recent four rounds, something the team has not been used to over the past 18 months.
Nevertheless, Verstappen does still lead the drivers' championship by 56 points after winning the Canadian Grand Prix, and Red Bull do lead the constructors' championship by 49 points.
To Verstappen, it has felt like the Milton Keynes-based outfit are "in a spiral", although he is confident that Red Bull are solving all its issues and are on top of it all.
"Sometimes it almost feels like you're a bit in a spiral and it maybe takes a bit of time to get out of it," Verstappen added.
"But yeah, we are for sure on top of everything. Of course, there are always things that you can do better. But yeah, we'll come out and analyse everything again and try to improve."
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