In one of Red Bull's worst weekends in the last ten years, the Austrian team spent days in Hungary fruitlessly searching for the correct set-up for the RB21. As a result, Max Verstappen was hopelessly outpaced for three days, but there was no sign of despair in the Dutchman. He is well past that stage.
Even Helmut Marko has come around. While Max Verstappen has been saying all season that another world title is impossible this year, Red Bull Racing's external advisor kept insisting that it could really still happen. But after Verstappen's ninth place in the Hungarian Grand Prix, Marko also admitted that a fifth title is impossible in 2025.
The race at the Hungaroring made it clearer than ever that there is a world of difference in performance between Red Bull and the dominant McLaren. It's not impossible that Red Bull might win a Grand Prix this year - which is something the new team manager Laurent Mekies said - but consistently competing for the victories? Everybody knows that's not possible.
Ultimately landing a ninth place in the ranking, it didn't matter to Max Verstappen. He could have been eighth. Or tenth. Red Bull currently plays a supporting role in Formula 1, with their best driver fighting battles in the midfield.
For him, the maxim is: to see through the season and hope that Red Bull can play a significant role with the introduction of the new technical regulations in '26. Worrying about the lack of performance now? He's long past that stage.
Because yes, the RB21 is simply not good enough. A stark conclusion, made clearer than ever at the circuit near Budapest. Verstappen hasn't experienced such hopeless driving in Hungary for many years.
Just like in the free practices and qualifying, Verstappen complained about the lack of grip. Nevertheless, both Helmut Marko and the team manager Mekies appointed by him were sure that the performances in Hungary were an exception and not the new standard. Red Bull will definitely come back, even this season already, was the message noted down by the management of the always ambitious team.
The Grand Prix of the Netherlands could be the ideal place for that. Verstappen definitely wants to shine in front of his home crowd. But is that realistic? McLaren team manager Andrea Stella named the Zandvoort circuit a place where his team will likely be strong - just like last season.
However, there are several weeks before this race is scheduled. Of course, there is a compulsory factory closure for the summer holiday. But Verstappen naturally hopes that there will eventually be an improvement found for the set-up, so that a disastrous weekend like in Hungary remains absent for the rest of the season.