Dr. Helmut Marko, a consultant for Red Bull, insists that attributing the team's dip in performance solely to Adrian Newey's departure oversimplifies the issue.
The team is openly admitting both the worsening handling of their 2024 car and the fact that their engineers are still unsure about the exact cause of the problems.
Some observers believe the root cause could be as straightforward as the exit of the 'genius' technical director, Adrian Newey.
"That is not true," Marko clarified in his latest column for Speed Week. "Newey was no longer involved in all the details of car development since the spring."
Nevertheless, the 81-year-old Austrian concedes that Red Bull does miss Newey's expertise.
"This cannot be denied, of course," Marko acknowledged. "Newey is Newey, a man with incredible experience. But our problem lies elsewhere."
He continued, "The examples of Mercedes and, to a lesser extent, Ferrari, have shown just how difficult dealing with these wing cars can be."
Red Bull suspects that while the numerous upgrades made to their car throughout 2024 have added downforce, they have also negatively impacted the handling and balance that Max Verstappen requires to perform at his best.
"We realised at Monza that there is a massive, fundamental problem with our car. Hopefully, the tyre testing taking place in Monza this week might help us get back on the right track," he said.
Liam Lawson took the Red Bull car for Pirelli's 2025 tyre tests on Tuesday, and he'll switch to the junior RB car on Wednesday.
Interestingly, RB's own latest upgrade—used solely on Yuki Tsunoda's car at Monza—proved to be a failure.
"Yuki was extremely unhappy with it," Marko mentioned. "He found the car more or less undriveable."
"We also believe that comparing the findings from the wind tunnel and the race track is also part of the problem," added Marko.
On a positive note, Marko states that Red Bull is beginning to understand the issue. Verstappen reportedly had a breakthrough moment at Zandvoort and communicated to the team via several Zoom calls what changes are needed.
"Max recognised where the weakness of the car lies on Saturday," Marko told the De Telegraaf newspaper. "A decision was made together with the engineers on how we can improve the car and make it competitive again."
He further stated, "We just have to find out which part made the car worse. If we knew that already, we would not be in this situation."
Marko remains optimistic that Red Bull can still salvage their chances in both the constructors' and drivers' championships.
"The lead in the constructors' has shrunk to eight points," he noted. "But we certainly don't have to write anything off yet."
"Because if Max starts winning again, then finishes between third and fifth for Checo (Perez) will be enough to successfully defend this title."
