Max Verstappen has suggested Red Bull might need to reassess its approach to saving money under the budget cap by opting not to design a dedicated low-downforce rear wing.
The team faced challenges in Las Vegas due to a noticeable top speed disadvantage, forcing mechanics to modify the existing wing by cutting it, which impaired the DRS functionality.
"We chose not to make one, so we simply don't have one," Verstappen said. "That has been the case since 2022. I think we just never thought we would run with so little downforce.
"With the budget cap, you have to make choices."
Despite understanding the rationale, Verstappen questioned whether Red Bull's decision was the right one this time. "We will look at it, but on the other hand, there is only one year left with these rules, so I don't know if it's worth it. It's tricky.
"It still feels a bit like we're throwing away two weekends," he remarked, pointing to the races in Las Vegas and Monza. "We had to saw off that DRS flap really hard, then you have less DRS effect," he added.
One positive for Verstappen is that despite qualifying in P5, he is still ahead of his championship rival Lando Norris. The McLaren driver must close the points gap in Saturday's race to delay Verstappen's championship victory.
"It's nice that we're ahead of Lando, but I'd still rather be higher up," he admitted. "We have to see how we handle the tyres in the race and how fast we are.
"I'd prefer to be champion as soon as possible, but I'm not really thinking about that."
Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko shared his optimism with De Telegraaf newspaper: "I think Max will win the title here, because McLaren doesn't seem fast enough."
At the same time, Marko revealed that Red Bull, like many other teams, had to adjust the 'skid block' following the latest FIA technical directive.
