Red Bull Racing pinning hopes on Saudi upgrade as pressure mounts with new parts bringing renewed optimism to Red Bull’s struggling 2025 campaign – As Red Bull Racing enters a critical stretch of the 2025 Formula One season, the team appears to be pinning its hopes on a major upgrade package that will debut at the upcoming Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah. After a disappointing start to the year that saw the reigning champions falter in Bahrain, pressure is mounting to halt the slide before the title challenge slips irreversibly out of reach.
According to a report in RacingNews365, citing sources close to the team, Red Bull will unveil the first of three planned development phases for the RB21 this weekend. At the heart of this first package is a significant redesign of the car’s underbody – a change that is designed to fundamentally alter the aerodynamic balance and improve the car’s handling characteristics, particularly at the front.
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Rumour: Underbody redesign aims to unlock performance
At the heart of the upgrade is the central section of the underbody. Engineers have worked to redistribute the aerodynamic load more towards the rear of the RB21, an adjustment they hope will calm the notoriously twitchy front end and provide the driver with a more predictable and confidence-inspiring platform.
While exact technical specifications remain under wraps, the intention is clear: to make the RB21 more manageable and competitive on a track that demands both top speed and stability through high-speed corners.
Jeddah, with its fast, flowing layout and unforgiving walls, is not the ideal track for testing radical changes. However, it is also a venue where aerodynamic efficiency and balance are crucial, making it a fitting stage for Red Bull to test their first big swing of the season. Whether these changes translate into performance gains won’t be known until the RB21 hits the track in practice and qualifying, but there is a sense of cautious optimism within the team.
Three-phase development strategy rolled out
The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix is just the beginning of a multi-pronged effort to rescue Red Bull’s title defence. The team has reportedly planned two more phases of development in quick succession – one for Miami and another for Imola – suggesting that this is not a one-off gamble, but part of a larger, structured development programme aimed at course-correcting a car that has so far failed to live up to expectations.
In Bahrain, the RB21’s balance issues were evident, particularly in the slower corners, where understeer plagued both drivers and compromised their ability to attack the kerbs and extract power from the exit. While Red Bull managed to salvage points, their pace relative to rivals such as Ferrari and McLaren raised eyebrows – and concerns.
It is understood that the team’s data confirmed what the drivers were reporting: inconsistent downforce distribution, poor traction coming out of corners and limited adjustability in set-up options.
With successive upgrades planned over the next three race weekends, Red Bull’s engineers are banking on a rapid development curve to get them back into championship contention. The hope is that by Imola, the RB21 will have evolved into a much more complete package capable of consistently challenging for wins.
Championship pressure building at the start of the season
Red Bull’s urgency is not just about chasing race wins. The early part of the 2025 calendar is already shaping up as a potential turning point in the championship narrative. A second consecutive underperformance in Saudi Arabia, followed by further struggles in Miami or Imola, could allow key rivals to build an unassailable points cushion. In a tightly-packed grid, where efficiency in developmental races is often the deciding factor, any ground lost now will be exponentially harder to recover later.
Adding to the pressure is the uncertainty surrounding Max Verstappen’s long-term future with the team. While the reigning world champion remains under contract, recent reports suggest that his commitment beyond 2025 may be dependent on Red Bull demonstrating competitiveness in the short term. Should the RB21 continue to underperform, Verstappen may well consider activating his release clauses and seeking a new challenge for the sport’s next regulatory era, which begins in 2026.
Both Aston Martin and Mercedes have been linked with the Dutchman, with sources claiming that informal interest has already been registered. So Red Bull have much more at stake this season than just trophies and titles – they are also fighting to retain the driver around whom they have built their modern identity.
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Internal dynamics add another layer of complexity
The pressure doesn’t just come from the stopwatch. Behind the scenes, Red Bull Racing continues to navigate internal tensions that have yet to be fully resolved since the departure of key technical figures at the end of 2024. The absence of Newey’s influence has been felt as the RB21 project has suffered early setbacks.
There is also the ongoing issue of team management cohesion, with Christian Horner’s future still the subject of occasional paddock speculation. The internal dynamics, while largely under control in public, have led some observers to question whether Red Bull’s traditional unity – and the ruthless efficiency that defined their last two championship-winning seasons – still exists in its previous form.
In this context, the upgrade programme takes on added significance, not just as a technical fix but as a symbolic reset. A strong showing in Jeddah could help rebuild confidence internally and send a message to rivals that Red Bull is far from out of the fight.
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Saudi Arabia a key test of RB21’s true potential
Jeddah will serve as a litmus test for the potential of the RB21 and Red Bull’s 2025 ambitions. The street circuit is one of the most demanding on the calendar, combining blistering speeds with tight corners and little margin for error. Success here typically correlates with strong aerodynamic performance, making it the ideal venue to see if the new underbody delivers on its promise.
Friday’s practice sessions will provide the first clues, but it’s during qualifying and Sunday’s race that the true extent of Red Bull’s progress – or lack thereof – will be revealed. If the RB21 shows marked improvement and closes the gap to the front runners, it could be the start of a season-saving turnaround. But if the problems persist, the team may be forced to reassess not only its development strategy, but its overall direction as it heads into a crucial period of transition for the sport.
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The road ahead: high stakes, high expectations
As Red Bull prepares to roll out its first major upgrade in Saudi Arabia, the stakes could hardly be higher. From rescuing a faltering title campaign to convincing their star driver to stay, the outcome of the next few races could define not just 2025, but the team’s trajectory towards F1’s next major regulatory overhaul in 2026.
This isn’t just about improving a car – it’s about reasserting dominance, preserving a legacy and proving that Red Bull Racing can still lead from the front under pressure. Whether the RB21 is up to the task will be revealed in Jeddah. All eyes are now on the Gulf as Red Bull prepares for one of its most important race weekends in years.
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The speculation over Max Verstappen’s Formula One future took another turn in Jeddah. With Red Bull sitting third in the constructors’ title race and their RB21 at times just the fourth fastest of the front runners on the grid this year, speculation is growing that should the Milton Keynes based team fail to give the world champion a car to claim his fifth title this season, he will be off elsewhere in search of future glory.
Max is no stranger to these kinds of rumours, which heightened during last years drought of ten consecutive race wins. However, the latest round of speculation was fired up by Red Bull advisor Dr. Helmut Marko who said ahead of the Saudi Grand Prix: “Upgrades are needed for Max to win his fifth world title,” he told Formel1.de. “That is our big goal and the whole team is working hard on it.
“Of course every top driver has an exit clause if performance is not good. But they are all tuned differently”. When asked if the F1 summer break in August was the earliest point in time where Verstappen could enact any…READ MORE ON THIS STORY
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