Red Bull’s Performance Under Scrutiny: Toto Wolff Analyzes Recent Struggles Amid ‘Downgrade’ Controversy

Has Red Bull regressed? Toto Wolff comments on the recent 'downgrade' controversy

Toto Wolff shares his opinion on whether Red Bull's performance has recently declined.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has commented on Red Bull's latest performance in Formula 1, stating that the difference in competitiveness among the leading four teams is becoming narrower.

Red Bull bounced back with a victory at the Canadian Grand Prix following a challenging weekend in Montreal. This came on the heels of their poorest showing of the 2024 season at the Monaco Grand Prix.

The current world champions had a disappointing performance in Monaco due to difficulties with their RB20 car, which faced problems with navigating over kerbs and bumps—issues that also troubled them, albeit less severely, in Canada.

Mercedes technical director James Allison speculated that Red Bull’s recent performance problems might be due to a new upgrade package that is actually reducing their performance.

"It seems like their upgrade actually made things worse," Allison remarked. "Let's hope it causes them significant trouble."

Experiencing issues with an upgrade complicates matters significantly. Once you lose confidence in your tools, you need to retrace your steps, which results in a substantial loss of time. Time is a valuable ally, and wasting it is detrimental.

Allison's assertion was swiftly dismissed by Red Bull's team principal, Christian Horner. He retorted, "Despite our downgrade, we still outperformed their upgrade. Securing the victory was truly gratifying."

When asked if he believes Red Bull's performance has declined in the past few races, Wolff explained to Sky Sports F1: "The recent races have been tougher for Red Bull. I feel everyone else has made significant progress."

"There were a few teams, two or three, that had a good chance of winning the race in Canada, but we weren't really one of them."

"I'm not sure if Red Bull has regressed. What matters most is that the gap is closing."

Wolff expects Red Bull to perform strongly in the series of European races ahead, beginning with the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona next week.

Wolff mentioned that Barcelona might be intriguing, depending on their strength there.

"Austria is their stronghold. McLaren performed exceptionally well there last year during their resurgence. That situation is always challenging for us."

"Max and the Red Bulls shouldn't be underestimated; they remain the standard and are definitely among the top competitors."

"However, McLaren has made significant progress, and let's not overlook Ferrari. While they weren't prominent in Canada, just two weeks ago in Monaco, they were setting the standard."

"There are currently four teams that are in contention."

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