"They should take a good look in the mirror" - Max Verstappen's father blasts Red Bull as team gets dominated by McLaren at Dutch GP

Max Verstappen's father, Jos Verstappen, sternly criticized Red Bull's pace in the recent Grand Prix after the Dutch driver lost at his home race in Zandvoort. Jos urged the team to take a good look at their development cycle and improve.

During the Dutch GP, McLaren's Lando Norris dominated Verstappen and won the latter's home race by a massive gap of 22 seconds. This was after Verstappen took the race lead at the start of the race.

Speaking to De Telegraaf after the 2024 F1 Dutch GP, Jos Verstappen stated that the fact that Red Bull's previous iteration of RB20 was better shows that their development progress had faults. He further gave a stern statement that the team should reanalyze themselves.

"Maybe I shouldn't say it, but I will anyway. The fact that you have to go back to the car from the beginning of this year says it all. They're just not doing it right here at the moment. I think they should take a good look in the mirror," Jos Verstappen said.

The start of the 2024 F1 season was great for the Austrian outfit. The defending world champions picked up where they left off in 2023 and dominated the field, with Max Verstappen winning races and Sergio Perez finishing second. After the Miami GP, however, Perez's performance dipped. While many in the sport started criticizing Checo, some also analyzed that Red Bull's RB20 was at the top like its predecessors RB18 and RB19.

Max Verstappen therafter no longer continued his dominant run as other drivers like Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, and more also won races. As of now, there are seven different drivers who have won one or two Grand Prix in 2024.

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Red Bull senior agrees with Max Verstappen's father's verdict on team performance in recent races

Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko agrees with Max Verstappen's father, Jos Verstappen's stern verdict on the Austrian team's recent dip in performance. Marko told De Telegraaf that the team was not expecting such a massive gap between them and McLaren at the Dutch GP. He also pointed out that Verstappen's teammate, Sergio Perez, was faster after a pitstop.

"Yes, we really have to look in the mirror. We did not expect such a big gap as today. The setup of Max's car was also not optimal. Teammate Sergio Pérez (P6) was faster after the pit stop. We have to analyze where things went wrong," Marko said.

As of now, Red Bull continues to lead the 2024 F1 constructors' championship with 434 points. However, they are being chased by second-placed McLaren with 404 points.