Red Bull is stuck without a low-downforce rear wing at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, creating a significant straight-line speed deficit to its F1 rivals.
Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez found themselves off the front-running pace in the opening two practice sessions in Nevada, with the pair ending FP2 down in P17 and P19, respectively.
In the hours since, the Milton Keynes-based team's rear wing has become a considerable talking point for the weekend ahead.
The RB20 is around 7 km/h down on the leading cars on the straights, a shortfall that equates to around six-tenths of a second across the lap.
Red Bull "trimmed" the rear wing on the back of Verstappen and Perez's cars between FP1 and FP2, a solution that is nevertheless inadequate in the fight against teams with specific low-downforce configurations.
"We don't have another rear wing, a smaller rear wing, as we see it on our competitors. It would be more helpful, for sure," Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko confirmed, whilst also explaining that replacements will not be shipped to Las Vegas overnight.
It begs the question: Why did the reigning constructors' champions opt to not bring a low-downforce wing to Las Vegas, and why will it not fly alternates to Nevada for the rest of the weekend?
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Why - and the associated ramifications
The long and the short of it is that Red Bull appears to not have a specific, low-downforce rear wing in its armoury. But why?
Whilst rival F1 teams developed smaller equivalent parts for dedicated races, such as the Italian Grand Prix, the Milton Keynes squad decided against producing a low-drag option - as it has also done in past campaigns.
Like Monza, the Las Vegas Strip Circuit requires a low-downforce aerodynamic approach and it has proved detrimental for Red Bull - even cutting u-shaped groves in the top of the wing has not sufficiently helped.
The cost cap era of F1 mandates tough financial calls and as Verstappen pointed out in Italy, the team ultimately spent the money elsewhere.
It has not previously hindered the reigning constructors' champions, but the RB20 is far from the dominant car its predecessors were. It is the nexus of the issue now, and why it has not bitten Red Bull in past years.
And with Verstappen poised to win a fourth-consecutive F1 drivers' title, Red Bull's subsequent outright speed deficit could prevent the Dutchman from securing the crown in Sin City.
Unless he can keep Lando Norris from reducing his arrears in the points standings from 62 to fewer than 60, the fight will rumble on to Qatar.
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