Red Bull handed 'pull together' demand to defend F1 titles

Red Bull chief engineer Paul Monaghan has called on the team "to pull together" in its bid to retain both its F1 titles this season. The current campaign has been a difficult one for Red Bull, initiated by the controversy surrounding Christian Horner, followed by the behind-the-scenes feud involving the British team principal and Max Verstappen's father Jos, and then the announcement of the departure of Adrian Newey. Alongside those issues, there has been continual speculation about the future of three-time F1 champion Max Verstappen and whether he will still be at the team next year, or in 2026, whilst Sergio Perez's form has suffered an alarming drop. Whilst Verstappen remains on course for a fourth consecutive drivers' title, leading Lando Norris by 78 points, Red Bull's lead in the constructors' standings has been slashed to 42 to McLaren. As to how difficult the next few months will be for Red Bull, Monaghan, speaking in a joint interview involving RacingNews365 , said: "One suspects quite difficult. I think the next 10 races will be quite tight. "I know, with all vigour, we will defend both championships as best we can. Obviously, we're dependent on Max and Checo as well. "But they're committed into this team, as far as I'm aware, as you see, and you talk to them, and we've got to pull together, stay together and get the best out of everything we've got. We want to defend the championships." Red Bull 'immersive' It was the situation with Horner that set the tone for the campaign. The 50-year-old was investigated - and cleared - over allegations of inappropriate behaviour with a female employee. The situation, however, remains ongoing in the background. Despite the additional off-track noise, which has lingered throughout the season, and most recently includes the fact sporting director Jonathan Wheatley will depart next year to become team principal of Audi, Monaghan maintains it has been easy to block out. "When you're here, yeah," said Monaghan, regarding being on-event for a grand prix. "I don't wish to be dismissive of it or anything like that. Once you're immersed in this world for a race weekend, even away from the race weekends, you look at who we've got to compete with, and how close they are, it's pretty immersive. "Really, for me, and I don't know how others feel, you are so focused on what you do, then I wasn't really following it or disrupted by it."