Martin Brundle suggests “internal events” have led to Red Bull’s decline in F1 2024

Legendary F1 commentator Martin Brundle has suggested off-track “events” which have marred Red Bull have impacted their performance recently in 2024.

Red Bull endured their most difficult weekend of the year last time out at the Monaco Grand Prix as Max Verstappen finished sixth.

It was Verstappen’s worst on-track finish since the 2022 Sao Paulo Grand Prix and a result which saw Charles Leclerc move to just 31 points behind in the F1 drivers’ championship.

It’s been a difficult three-race run for Red Bull.

They were out-paced by Lando Norris in Miami, while it can be argued McLaren had the slightly quicker car at Imola had it not been for a masterclass from Verstappen in qualifying.

Similarly in Monaco, Red Bull were the third-fastest team behind Ferrari and McLaren, compounded by a rare mistake in Q3 from the reigning world champion.

While tensions have simmered since the start of the season, Brundle feels that the drama surrounding the team away from the race track might have “detracted” from their performance.

"Ferrari and McLaren are on a fine run, both teams and driver pairings looking very cohesive, focused, and well structured,” he wrote in his Sky F1 column.

"This means that Red Bull are very much looking in their rear mirrors in both the drivers' and constructors' championships and it appears to be game-on with so many races to come.

"I personally have no doubt the internal events at Red Bull have detracted from their recent performances, and they'll be desperately keen to resume normal service in Montreal next time out."

Red Bull boss Christian Horner shrugged off concerns about his team’s form, conceding that it was to be expected that their rivals would close up given the stability in the regulations.

Horner is keen to see Red Bull’s form over the next few rounds before making any firm judgements.

"I think we saw it in Singapore last year as well,” he said in Monaco. “I think we've had another example of that. We know it's an area of the car we need to work on. We have some lessons to take out of this weekend and some issues that we need to address with the car.

"Ferrari, McLaren, they're quick. It was always going to happen that there was going to be convergence. I think McLaren made a big step, Ferrari's step was very subtle. So let's see over the next two or three races.

“We're now getting into the meat of the championship so let's see. Montreal, Barcelona, Austria, Silverstone, let's see over the next few circuits how things pan out. It's a marathon, not a sprint.

“We expected this to be a tough weekend for us. Qualifying was difficult which then dictates where you are in the race."