Verstappen: Top 5 result will be difficult for Red Bull in Zandvoort

Red Bull work to solve two fundamental problems

For the last eighteen months, the erratic nature of Red Bull’s cars has been the subject of extensive analysis.

This has only intensified with Lawson and now Tsunoda being put alongside Verstappen this year.

Understandably, there has been a growing sense that the Milton Keynes outfit have not put their second drivers in a position to succeed.

Laurent Mekies, Red Bull team principal, continues to emphasise that the RB21 needs to be optimised.

Mekies frequently redirects questions about his drivers to focus on the inconsistency of the car underneath them.

It is with this attitude the Austrian outfit have worked over the summer break.

The fact both Verstappen and Tsunoda are using the new front wing is an early indication of Red Bull’s intention of having two drivers fighting near the front.

Practice two was encouraging in this sense, with Tsunoda finishing a reasonable P7.

However, another problem continues to present itself for Red Bull.

As demonstrated by Verstappen’s 6-tengh gap to P1, the RB21 is simply too slow.

Earlier in the season, whilst a handful to drive, there was still a sense that wins were possible if everything was optimised.

This is no longer the case, with Red Bull failing to develop their package as they would have wanted to.

Verstappen gives his verdict

Conscious of this fact, Max Verstappen is not particularly enthusiastic about his prospects.

In many ways, his comments after stepping out of the car in FP2 are similar to those he gave on Thursday.

Much like Hungary, The Netherlands does not play to the RB21’s strengths.

Whilst Red Bull are hoping for more than the two points they scored in Hungary, their pace so far this weekend has not been encouraging:

The 4-time Champion explained his outlook on this weekend:

“I mean nothing special, really, still struggling with the same things.

“We tried a lot of things with the car, but it doesn’t really seem to change anything in terms of my underlying problems…

“I’m not going to expect a massive turnaround, I think it’s just tricky, plus the layout of the track also probably doesn’t suit the problems we have.”

In a similar fashion to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, Verstappen is expecting threats from across the field.

Even Aston Martin could put the Red Bull duo under pressure, as they did last weekend in Hungary.

The Dutchman even admitted that finishing in the top five would be a challenge.

The only consolation Red Bull can take is that both Ferrari and Mercedes had clear limitations of their own.

In this sense, there is still a chance to make progress on their goal of finishing second in the Championship.

As Verstappen has previously eluded to, some rain would also be welcome for the Milton Keynes outfit, who begin a second half of the season that presents a huge test.