The final chapter of the 2025 Formula 1 season is shaping up to be a tale of redemption. Just a few weeks ago, Max Verstappen himself conceded that victory seemed as unlikely as finding a free parking space in Monaco. Yet here we are, with the Dutchman suddenly looking reborn and achieving consecutive victories in Italy and Azerbaijan.
The paddock, which had written off Red Bull as yesterday’s champions, is now squinting back towards Milton Keynes and wondering if the old beast has any life left in it. It has been a summer of suffering and perhaps Hungary was the nadir: Verstappen slogged home in ninth place, behind both Racing Bulls. At times, the mighty RB21 was behaving more like a rebellious shopping trolley than a championship-winning machine.
Helmut Marko, in his typically blunt manner, conceded that the car’s design philosophy was misguided. Enter a new underbody and some clever rethinking, and suddenly the headlines turned. The team went from floundering to finding form, proof that the difference between despair and delight can be as little as a few millimetres of carbon fibre.
The RB21 has finally arrived!
In Baku, Verstappen made a telling remark: ‘We don’t have to try so many things on the car anymore.’ Translation: Fridays used to feel like a blind date gone wrong, with engineers frantically adjusting and tweaking the car in an attempt to get it to behave. Now, Red Bull can at least turn up confident that the RB21 won’t embarrass itself.
When asked by Motorsport.com whether Red Bull had finally unlocked the car’s narrow operating window, Verstappen grinned and said that they had — all thanks to months of painful lessons. The suggestion is, of course, that this isn’t just a lucky streak, but the result of systematic improvement. In Formula 1, however, ‘systematic correction’ is often code for ‘we finally stopped tripping over our own shoelaces’.
Cautious optimism
Max insists it’s too soon to talk about title fights, pointing to Singapore as the real test. Still, momentum speaks louder than modesty. Two straight wins have transformed the mood in the paddock from existential crisis to cautious optimism. After the disaster in Bahrain earlier this year, Red Bull held a crisis meeting that felt like a corporate seminar on ’embracing failure’.
Now? There are smiles and laughter, and technical figures who were once criticised are now making podium appearances. It’s incredible how much a few trophies can boost morale.
Confidence is returning
Verstappen understands the mental side better than most. Victories don’t just hand out points; they hand out belief. Engineers who were once staring bleakly into their laptops can now see light at the end of the tunnel — and this time it isn’t an oncoming Ferrari.
Verstappen joked that technical director Pierre Wache might even cut back on his stress-smoking habit. The image of Wache puffing his way through another disappointing qualifying session suddenly feels outdated. Winning, it seems, is the best nicotine patch.
Mekies brings a new style
Another factor is the new team principal, Laurent Mekies. While his predecessor adopted an iron-fist approach to management, Mekies has introduced a novel concept to Red Bull: small gestures of encouragement. For example, he made sure to bring Paul Monaghan and Pierre Wache onto the podium in recent races — a symbolic but effective reminder that it’s a team effort.
Verstappen, typically quick to deflect praise, claimed his role was simply to ‘do a few laps’. However, his acknowledgement that Mekies is ‘asking the right questions’ suggests that there is more to it than that. The relationship between the driver, the engineers and the leadership has been reset, and Red Bull suddenly look less like a dysfunctional family reunion and more like a functioning racing team.
The Red Bull pattern
For all the drama, this isn’t exactly new territory for Red Bull. Red Bull have a knack for faltering at the start of a season and making a strong comeback later on. Verstappen himself reminded everyone of those past turnarounds. The difference now is the budget cap, which makes achieving a mid-season turnaround much more challenging. The days of throwing money at problems until they were solved are gone.
This year’s turnaround, then, isn’t just technical — it’s cultural. Patience, persistence and the ability to laugh at themselves when things go wrong have got them through. So too has the dawning realisation that Ferrari and McLaren aren’t going to wait around for them to get their act together.
They are always seeking solutions
Verstappen admitted that there were moments of doubt when he even wondered if the season was beyond saving. However, self-pity doesn’t win championships. ‘You always have to look for solutions,’ he said, as if offering a slogan for a motivational poster. Yet behind the platitude lies a truth: Red Bull stopped sulking, rolled up their sleeves and started communicating like adults. This is a rare skill in Formula 1, where finger-pointing is often the default response.
So here we are, heading into the season finale with Red Bull suddenly relevant again. Whether this will be enough to spark a genuine title fight remains to be seen, but what matters is the trajectory. Verstappen’s victories in Monza and Baku not only added to their points tally, they also served as a reminder that this is still the team that dominated in 2023. The phoenix may not yet be soaring, but it is certainly flapping its wings again.
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MORE F1 NEWS – F1 2025 final races: Who has the pace advantage?
With seven races and three sprint events remaining, the 2025 Formula One season enters its decisive stretch. After a year characterised by McLaren’s resurgence, Red Bull’s resilience and glimpses of strength from Mercedes and Ferrari, the competitors gather in Singapore for the first of the remaining contests. Not only is the drivers’ crown at stake, but also the answer to the question that has dogged this campaign since March: who really has the fastest car?
For much of the season, McLaren have set the pace. Their MCL39 has been the most consistent performer across a variety of tracks, though it has its limitations. Meanwhile, Red Bull suffered spells of inconsistency, but countered with decisive upgrades that have kept Max Verstappen in contention.
Mercedes and Ferrari have also enjoyed success, but neither has managed to perform consistently. The order has shifted again since the summer break, and as the championship draws to a close, each circuit presents a new test of the teams’ strengths and weaknesses….. READ MORE
With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
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