Ralf Schumacher revealed the details of a conversation he had with Jos Verstappen about Red Bull’s car setup struggles.

The Sky Sports Germany commentator argued that Red Bull ‘does not yet understand their car properly’ as he shared an exchange with Jos Verstappen about the team’s difficulty extracting the performance out of the RB21.

This comes after Red Bull suffered major setup issues with their car at the Brazil GP, with both drivers knocked out of qualifying in Q1. It was the first time Max Verstappen had been knocked out in Q1 on pure pace.

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Speaking on the Sky Sports Germany broadcast Schumacher said Red Bull ‘took a wrong turn’ in setup.

He added: “[The team] does not yet understand the car properly. Hence the fluctuation in the performance of the Red Bull.

“There was more in it, and that has to be said clearly.

“I spoke with Jos, who said that you can’t imagine how difficult it is to get these tyres into their optimal operating window.

“That would explain why Mercedes and sometimes McLaren have problems.

"Nevertheless, that shouldn’t be the case for a top team that has won so many world championships.”

Max Verstappen turned a pit lane start into P3 at the Brazil GP - Photo: Red Bull Content Pool

Mekies confronts car problems

Red Bull Team Principal Laurent Mekies acknowledged the RB21’s narrow performance window after the Brazil GP. He outlined that the team has often struggled to predict the car's performance leading into different races and 'it's a question we have to fight every weekend.'

Red Bull opted to make setup changes to Verstappen's car and implement a brand new power unit late into Saturday evening, which contravened Parc Ferme rules and meant that he had to start from the pit lane.

Verstappen showed much stronger pace on Sunday and, powered by a brand new power unit, fought back to finish on the podium.

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