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Red Bull admitting a misstep with the updates? 'Downdates' for Zandvoort
- Ludo van Denderen
With much fanfare, Red Bull Racing introduced a host of updates in Hungary recently, but it soon became clear that they did not bring what was expected (or hoped for?). In the run-up to the Dutch Grand Prix, which will be held at a circuit similar to the Hungaroring, it seems that previous updates have already disappeared. At least, that is what Helmut Marko, Red Bull Racing's external advisor, is hinting at.
With Hungary's upgrades, Red Bull hoped to close the emerging gap to McLaren again, but there appeared to be none of that. The McLarens were significantly faster than the Red Bulls, and managed to grab a neat one-two near Budapest. After that race, Max Verstappen was critical of the continued development of his RB20, among other things. The Dutchman then openly expressed doubts about the introduced updates.
Marko sees Red Bull 'as one of the favourites'
For the Dutch Grand Prix, the reigning constructors' world champions did not bring any significant updates. Indeed, speaking to Kleine Zeiting, Marko even talks about 'downdates'. By this, he seems to imply that some of the earlier updates have already disappeared.
Still, the Austrian says of the upcoming Grand Prix at the Zandvoort circuit: "But I am optimistic. We have fallen a lot short recently. Especially qualifying will be important at Zandvoort. Together with McLaren, we are definitely among the favourites," Marko said.
This article was written in collaboration with Kada Sarkozi
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