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Karun Chandhok believes Red Bull could face major problems in the final races of the season. According to the Sky Sports analyst, the team is not gathering enough high-quality data from its second car, which puts Max Verstappen at a disadvantage compared to his championship rivals at McLaren and Ferrari.
Red Bull has struggled in several recent weekends, often missing the ideal setup window. While Verstappen has repeatedly rescued strong results through sheer performance, Liam Lawson has been unable to match his pace consistently. That gap between the two drivers limits Red Bull’s ability to compare car behaviour, test setup variations and validate simulator predictions.
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Norris and Piastri, by contrast, regularly run closely together in terms of pace, giving McLaren a strong data foundation that helps them stay ahead in development.
“They Are Not Collecting the Information They Need”
Chandhok explained the issue during Sky Sports’ post-race analysis. “Red Bull is not collecting the information they need from both cars. Max is driving incredibly well, but the team needs two strong reference points. Without that, setup work becomes guesswork.”
He believes the data imbalance is creating a strategic disadvantage. “McLaren has two drivers pushing each other and delivering near-identical laps. That gives them clarity. Red Bull does not have that luxury at the moment.”
Verstappen Forced to Take Bigger Risks
According to Chandhok, the situation means Verstappen is shouldering more of the workload and pressure. “When the car is unpredictable and you lack data from the other side of the garage, Max has to take more risks to extract performance. That is not sustainable across several weekends.”
Chandhok said the coming races will be crucial. “If Red Bull cannot improve the correlation between data, setup and performance, they will be in trouble. Max can compensate for a lot, but not for everything.”
Red Bull hopes the Las Vegas and Qatar weekends will bring more stability, allowing Verstappen to fight with Norris and Piastri on equal footing as the title race enters its decisive phase.
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