Toto Wolff is not completely sold on Red Bull's decline, wagering that it could yet prove to just be a "blip" despite its difficult weekend in Monza.
Toto Wolff feels Red Bull's recent loss of form is "really weird" but believes it could still prove to be a "blip".
The Mercedes team principal contended that the Italian Grand Prix was "one of the worst races" the Milton Keynes squad has had in recent memory, with the reigning constructors' champions only the fourth-fastest team.
In Monza, Verstappen turned seventh on the grid to sixth place in the race, whilst Sergio Perez started eighth and finished there.
The Dutchman moved up on account of Wolff's driver, George Russell, incurring damage on the first lap, which ruined his race.
The Briton crossed the line seventh having qualified third, whereas Lewis Hamilton started sixth and finished in fifth position.
Mercedes has seldom had a better package than Red Bull since F1 introduced the contemporary ground effects regulations at the start of 2022.
As for Red Bull's decline, Wolff believes Max Verstappen was able to prevent the slide for some time, but has seemingly been overcome by the scale of the RB20's problems.
"Yeah, that's really weird," the Austrian told media including RacingNews365 when asked if he was surprised by the extent at which Red Bull's championship challenge had collapsed since the summer break.
"I have no insight, obviously, but that is not at all the Red Bull of the start of the year, dominant.
"I think that Max [Verstappen] was able to keep it going for a while with his ability, but it seems now that [they have collapsed], from the sheer results, and that's what I see without understanding, without knowing what's going on inside, because it could be blip, also.
"That was probably one of the worst races that we've seen [from Red Bull] for many years, to have no pace."
