Red Bull has scored only sixteen World Championship points in the last three Grands Prix and is therefore in a disappointing sixth place in the standings. The team proved not competitive enough in recent weeks to compete with Mercedes, Ferrari, and McLaren. Furthermore, both Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar struggled with reliability issues. The worst start to a season in over ten years is now a fact.
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The last time Red Bull had such a difficult start was in 2015. At that time, the tally in Milton Keynes stood at thirteen World Championship points after three rounds. After the departure of Sebastian Vettel – who made the long-awaited switch to Ferrari after his four world titles with Red Bull – the German was replaced by Daniil Kvyat. At that point, the Russian had one season behind him at sister team Toro Rosso, the current Racing Bulls.
Points crisis
However, his debut race in Melbourne did not yield the desired result; on the contrary. Due to a gearbox problem, Kvyat had to drop out even before the start. Teammate Daniel Ricciardo finished sixth in front of his home crowd. That would remain the highest ranking for Red Bull in the first three Grands Prix. In the subsequent race in Malaysia, Ricciardo and Kvyat finished tenth and ninth respectively, accounting for only a handful of points.
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The third race in China meant another retirement for Daniil Kvyat, who dropped out with engine failure. In the sixteenth round, his engine block caught fire and he had to return to the pit lane; the Russian was on track for a second points finish but did not reach the finish line. Ricciardo eventually crossed the line in ninth. A quick calculation shows that Red Bull had collected thirteen World Championship points after three Grands Prix. This put the team in fifth place in the standings, just one point above Toro Rosso. As the season progressed, Red Bull managed to recover and several podium finishes were achieved. However, a victory remained elusive. The team finished the season in fourth place, well behind Williams, Ferrari and Mercedes.
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