F1 presenter Martin Brundle has “no doubt” Red Bull Racing’s internal civil war has “detracted them” amidst recent performances

After a dominant 2023 season, defending constructor champion, Red Bull Racing witnessed a drop in performance this year. Legendary Formula 1 presenter Martin Brundle, believes that this might be the result of 'internal issues' at the Milton Keynes-based outfit.

Ahead of the 2024 season, Red Bull Racing's team principal, Christian Horner, was under investigation for misconduct against a female staffer. Further adding to the woes was Jos Verstappen's demand for Horner's resignation after the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend. The former F1 race winner accused Horner of playing the victim card and causing trouble within the team.

As the dust began to settle, Red Bull Racing's Chief Technical Officer, Adrian Newey, announced his resignation. Coincidentally, since Newey's announcement, the team has managed to win just one race (Emilia-Romagna) out of the three it has entered. This appears to give Max Verstappen's father's warning, issued following the season-opening race, more weight.

Red Bull Racing had a disastrous weekend at the Principality of Monaco, with Max Verstappen ending the race in sixth place and Sergio Perez crashing out in lap 1. In a post-race column for Sky Sports, Brundle wrote:

“Ferrari and McLaren are on a fine run, both teams and driver pairings looking very cohesive, focused, and well structured. This means that Red Bull are very much looking in their rear mirrors in both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships"

He further added:

“I personally have no doubt that 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 Racing's run at the Monaco Grand Prix

After dismal results in all three Free Practice (FP) sessions, Red Bull Racing drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez pushed hard in Qualifying. However, the best they could manage was P6 and P16, respectively.

With 'Damage-Limitation' as the objective for the race, Verstappen and Perez had a good start on Sunday. However, the Mexican driver's afternoon was ruined after he got involved in an incident on lap 1 with HAAS drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen.

After turn one, Magnussen tried to dive on the inside in an attempt to jump Perez before the casino corner. But on the short, uphill stretch, the latter misjudged and tagged the former, leaving Hulkenberg as an innocent bystander. The incident ended the race for all three drivers.

However, Red Bull Racing tried to salvage the race with Verstappen once the Grand Prix resumed. Unfortunately, the defending triple world champion was unable to extract the best out of his RB20 race car on the legendary street circuit. He finished the race in 6th place, between the Mercedes-AMG duo of George Russell (P5) and Lewis Hamilton (P7).