Red Bull’s star driver hopes for stronger 2025 season – Max Verstappen, now a four-time world champion, has set his sights on a more competitive season with Red Bull’s RB21. After taking the wheel of the new challenger during pre-season testing in Bahrain, the Dutchman expressed a mixture of optimism and realism. Reflecting on the turbulent 2024 season, he made his stance clear: “It can’t be worse than last year.”

After a dominant start to 2024, Red Bull’s performance took a worrying dip, allowing McLaren and Ferrari to close in. What initially looked like another runaway title season for Verstappen and his team turned into an uphill battle.

With just two wins in the final 14 races, an increasingly unpredictable car and inconsistent performances, Red Bull ended the year far from where they had hoped. Now, with a new season ahead, Verstappen and the team are eager to put those struggles behind them.

Hamilton contradicts his old boss, Toto Wolff

 

 

The RB21: a step in the right direction?

Pre-season testing is often a cautious affair, with teams rarely revealing their full hand, but Verstappen’s early feedback on the RB21 suggests an improvement. While he refrained from making any bold claims about direct performance, his words conveyed a sense of confidence. “So I think the direction we are working in is the right one,” he said, underlining Red Bull’s commitment to addressing last season’s shortcomings.

Although it is still early in the season, Verstappen is encouraged by the feel of the new car. “We just have to go down this road and see what we can get out of it,” he explained. Unlike the RB20, which became increasingly difficult to drive as the season progressed, the RB21 already seems to offer a more enjoyable experience.

Worrying signs for Lawson and Red Bull advantage with FIA rule change

“I had fun yesterday and that’s a big difference from last year,” he admitted.

The reigning World Champion’s comments highlight just how frustrating the RB20 had become. What started out as a dominant force gradually turned into a car that lacked consistency. Red Bull’s struggles to balance the car made it unpredictable from track to track, leading to increased pressure from rivals McLaren and Ferrari.

If Verstappen’s first impressions of the RB21 are anything to go by, Red Bull may have found a solution to last season’s problems.

Sainz makes a statement – McLaren is hiding something

 

 

 

Lessons from 2024: Red Bull’s winter development

The dramatic drop in Red Bull’s performance in the second half of 2024 forced the team to take a hard look at its approach. Technical shortcomings, an inability to extract consistent performance from the RB20 and growing competition from McLaren and Ferrari left the team vulnerable. Known for his precise and direct feedback, Verstappen played a key role in shaping the RB21’s development over the winter.

“Some cars don’t need a lot of input,” he explained. “For me and the team, we knew at some point last year that something was going on.”

Insider: McLaren unhappy with Piastri

Recognising these issues, Verstappen and Red Bull worked closely together to ensure the RB21 avoided the same pitfalls. “Obviously, some things needed to be fixed and that’s why some things have been changed,” he revealed.

His involvement in the car’s development has been more hands-on than ever before. As a driver who thrives on a car that suits his aggressive style, Verstappen made his expectations clear. “I give my opinion on what I need. The car needs to go faster and that’s what we’re trying to do,” he said.

While the RB21 is still an unknown quantity in race conditions, Verstappen’s confidence in its potential suggests that Red Bull have made significant progress.

McLaren’s bold statement: “That confidence seems justified”

 

 

 

 

The real test comes in Australia

Although pre-season testing provides an insight into the car’s performance, the real test will come in Australia, where the first race of the 2025 season will take place. Melbourne presents a very different challenge to Bahrain, and Verstappen knows that early optimism must be tested in race conditions.

“We now have to see how the car performs in Australia, which is a completely different circuit to Bahrain,” he cautioned.

Red Bull enter the new season determined to reassert their dominance, but the competition is fiercer than ever. McLaren and Ferrari have both made huge strides in 2024, closing the gap significantly. If Red Bull is to regain its status as the team to beat, it will need to deliver from the first race.

With Melbourne fast approaching, all eyes will be on the RB21 to see if Red Bull have indeed learned from their mistakes. The upcoming season promises to be one of the most competitive in years, and Verstappen knows that he and his team have no room for error. The challenge ahead is clear, but for now he is certain of one thing – the RB21 can’t be any worse than last year.

READ MORE – Hamilton speaks openly about Cullen

 

 

 

 

MORE F1 NEWS – Testing data deep dive: The F1 pecking order is emerging

Of course testing is just testing and teams run different levels of fuel together with different power unit settings, yet there are aspects of the various kinds of runs the teams choose to make which give a much firmer kind of data.

Red Bull were handicapped by a water pressure problem which saw Liam Lawson miss out on some of the track time on day 2. Further, the team did not perform any long run race simulations which may be left to Max Verstappen tomorrow.

Yet in the afternoon McLaren (Lando Norris), Ferrari (Charles Leclerc) and Mercedes (Kimi Antonelli) all performed a number of race simulation long runs.

The headline from the data is that across a 57 lap Grand Prix in Bahrain,  Lando Norris was an enormous 32.3 seconds ahead of Leclerc, with Antonelli a further 2.4 seconds behind.

The first thing to remember when considering Mercedes is that Kimi Antonelli being a rookie would probably be slower than George Russell and so the numbers from the Mercedes runs may well be…READ MORE ON THIS STORY