Max Verstappen draws harsh conclusion after Red Bull's 'crucial' updates

Prior to the Austrian Grand Prix, Helmut Marko spoke about 'crucial' updates for Red Bull Racing. These updates were to be the last straw for Max Verstappen's title bid, if it wasn't already lost. With ten points from the two 'crucial' races, that seems like a clear answer.

The team was supposed to bring updates to Spielberg, with refined parts for the British Grand Prix. In Spielberg, the updates fell short, whereas in Silverstone, there was finally some optimism after the qualifying. The updates worked, Verstappen stated, but it was not enough.

Red Bull Racing opted for a very aggressive low downforce setup prior to the qualifying, one that is comparable to that in Monza. Red Bull expected a dry race. A bet that went wrong. The RB21 proved to be completely uncontrollable with that setup, even for Verstappen, which is supported by the Dutchman's unusual spin behind the safety car.

Despite Verstappen's disappointing result, not to mention his teammate, Christian Horner looked for the silver linings: ''We've got pole position here. We've got performance on the car from the upgrade that we brought. We were able to balance it for qualifying at a track that's very heavily aero dependent. We got unlucky with the weather today, it was worth a shot but didn't pay off so we'll focus on the positives.''

There was no optimism for Verstappen after the end of the British Grand Prix. As has often been the case in recent weeks, Verstappen showed more resignation and a considerable dose of realism. McLaren was simply too fast, even with the new updates on the car.

It was a stark contrast to Verstappen after the qualifying. Then, the Dutchman was actually very pleased with the updates. Asked by GPblog if that was now different, Verstappen said: ''The updates work, for sure, but it's not enough, we know that.''

There might still be more to come for Verstappen. Horner was asked about updates for the rest of the season, to which the Red Bull team principal answered 'possible'. It would be the real last straw for Red Bull Racing, although the world championship seems already out of reach.

After his fifth place in Silverstone, Verstappen is now at a staggering 69 points behind Oscar Piastri. That's almost three race victories. The only advantage for Red Bull is that Verstappen is still ahead of George Russell in the standings, as Christian Horner also emphasized, possibly hinting at Verstappen's exit clause.