Red Bull's woes threaten Max Verstappen's title defense

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has revealed that his squad is trapped in a "vicious circle" as it battles to resolve the balance problems plaguing its RB20 Formula 1 car.

World championship leader Verstappen fears he is now at risk of losing this year's title due to Red Bull's ongoing struggles, which have seen the team slump to a lowly sixth-place finish at the recent Italian Grand Prix.

Horner has opened up on the team's difficulties, explaining that addressing one issue with the car simply creates new problems elsewhere.

"We've got a disconnection in balance that just isn't working,"

he said.

"As soon as you end up in that situation, you're harder on tyres. You then end up compensating, you move the balance around, you secure one problem and you create another. So you just end up in a vicious circle."

The team's attempts to understand the RB20's shortcomings, including experiments with the car's floor, have so far failed to provide clear answers.

Horner admitted that the team's performance at Monza has "exposed the deficiencies" in the car compared to last year's dominant RB19 challenger.

With title rival McLaren now emerging as a threat on all circuit types, the pressure is mounting on Red Bull to find a quick fix.

"With the pace that we had [in Italy], both championships absolutely will be under pressure for sure,"

Horner conceded.

"We have to turn the situation around very quickly."

However, Horner acknowledged that time is of the essence, with the development lead times in F1 making it a race against the clock to resolve the RB20's issues before the title fight slips away.

"Time now is crucial,"

he said.