Max Verstappen appears to contradict Christian Horner’s suggestion that a closer fight in the 2024 F1 season is “normal”. After winning the last Spanish Grand Prix with his seventh victory in 10 races so far this year, Red Bull team principal Horner explained that he felt the field eroded his huge advantage. Red Bull from last season is “normal”.

Last season, the team won 21 of 22 races, including 19 for Verstappen as they both set multiple F1 records, including most points, most wins, most laps led and largest gap with second place in the championship in the most dominant season by one driver in F1 history.
Despite winning 70% of races in 2024, Verstappen and Red Bull are still under threat from McLaren and Ferrari, while Mercedes is also moving closer to the top spot after recent upgrades.

Upon hearing Horner’s comments, Verstappen dismissed the notion that the gap between Red Bull and the team is narrowing. “In general, everyone is getting closer and of course last year we had an extremely dominant season, even until the last race,” he shared with the media, including RacingNews365. “It’s a little bit more difficult now and I think we have to be honest about that. We can say, ‘That’s normal,’ but I don’t think that’s normal. “We always want to be better and that’s why I mention it. I can say we won and that’s fine, but that’s not how I see it.

“We have to keep working hard. If we think this is normal, people will surpass us. I’m always outspoken and critical because I always want to improve. “That should be everyone’s approach, too.” “I’m trying to push for upgrades to happen faster, and I’m allowed to criticize. If I say, ‘Everything’s fine,’ that I’ll see everyone again next Thursday, then it’s not fine.” for a long time.” Meanwhile, the three-time F1 champion is on the brink of being fined after an inspection of his broken transmission unit from Canada allegedly proved it was beyond repair.

Verstappen pitted during FP2 in Montreal with smoke pouring from the rear of the car as the car was transported by Honda to Japan for testing. Honda is said to have told Red Bull that the equipment was beyond repair, with Verstappen using his fourth internal combustion engine of the season. Each driver is allowed four races during the season, meaning Verstappen now has three races for the remainder of the season.

This means a ban could happen at some point this season, with Spa-Francorchamps a potential candidate, although Verstappen would not be affected by the situation. Initially, Verstappen will drop 10 places in the rankings if he uses ICE for the fifth time, and then five places if he uses ICE for the sixth time, and so on. “At the time, it didn’t look very good, not necessarily the motive but just the situation,” he explained. “I’m just waiting to see what happens.” When asked about the possible position of the penalty, Verstappen simply replied: “I won’t tell you.”