Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko anticipated his team would dominate the current season, but the resurgence of rivals like McLaren and Mercedes has made this challenging. Consequently, the 81-year-old stressed the urgent need for the summer break, particularly for Max Verstappen, who is not used to not winning races.

The Milton Keynes outfit went through its third race without bagging a victory, proving Christian Horner’s theory right that Red Bull is experiencing a phase of diminishing returns. While McLaren has consistently challenged the RB20 at the front in recent months, Mercedes has been the latest addition to the party, as it claimed two back-to-back victories in Austria and Silverstone.

In yesterday’s race at the Hungaroring, Red Bull’s performance faltered as Verstappen vented his frustrations over the radio, criticizing the car’s performance and blaming the team’s strategy for his P5 finish. Despite a significant upgrade to the RB20 in Budapest, it ended the race behind the two McLaren MCL38s of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, as well as Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes W15 and Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari SF24. The second Red Bull, driven by Sergio Perez, finished P7, trailing Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.

For a team that triumphed in 21 out of 22 races last season and maintained its dominant form in the early races of 2024, enduring a string of winless races in recent weeks is a challenging shift, especially for Verstappen, who secured 19 of those victories.

Thus, Marko revealed that the team needed a break to sort things out internally. He also emphasized that despite Red Bull leading both championships, it can no longer afford “the small and easy mistakes”. He told ORF:

“We urgently need it [summer break].

“In the first three races we thought we were going to have a similar season to last year, but then suddenly there was the turnaround.

“Max is not used to that and we are also not used enough to the fact that you have to fight hard with competitors. That’s something that makes it better for fans and journalists, of course, but we have to endure that situation and eventually master the situation.

“We’re still in the lead in both championships. There are still a lot of races, so we shouldn’t pretend that everything is lost. But we absolutely cannot afford the small and easy mistakes.”

Red Bull currently leads the Constructors’ Championship, holding a 51-point advantage over McLaren. Meanwhile, Verstappen tops the Drivers’ Standings with a 76-point lead over Norris.