Max Verstappen and the Red Bull team are currently leading both world championships. However, during the recent qualifying session for the Spanish GP, Verstappen, who is the reigning world champion, faced some difficulties. He was surpassed by an incredibly impressive competitor, which led the 26-year-old driver to request that Red Bull improve the speed of the RB20 to have a chance at winning the world title.
The Red Bull F1 team has been dominating their opponents since the beginning of the ground effect era. However, this season, their competitors have caught up, making it more challenging for the Austrian team. After the qualifying session in Barcelona, Verstappen indirectly acknowledged this and urged his team to find more speed.
It is evident from the reaction of the three-time world champion that it is crucial for Red Bull and their team to start finding additional performance in the RB20. So far this year, Red Bull has already lost three out of the nine Grand Prix races that have taken place.
While Verstappen has asked for more speed from Red Bull to have a chance at winning the world championship, his teammate had another disappointing qualifying session. He could only finish in eighth place, and a three-place grid penalty pushed him even further down to eleventh place.
Considering Perez’s poor performance in the last few races, it seems highly unlikely that he will be able to secure a podium finish in the upcoming races. Therefore, Verstappen will once again have to fight alone against competitors like Lando Norris and others at the front. The positive aspect for Verstappen is that the RB20 has shown good performance in long races compared to its rivals.