There has been a lot of speculation in the Formula 1 paddock about Red Bull’s remarkable resurgence in the second half of the season. After struggling to match McLaren and Ferrari earlier in the year, the reigning champions have roared back to life, led by Max Verstappen’s impressive run of form. The team’s recent dominance has reignited talk of another technical masterstroke, but while team principal Laurent Mekies insists that no single factor explains the turnaround, others believe they have found the key: car height.
Red Bull’s surge in performance after the summer break has been “spectacular”, as Mekies himself described in Singapore. Verstappen hasn’t finished outside the top two since then, collecting victories in Monza, Baku, and Austin, along with a sprint win. This pattern goes beyond track-specific advantages, suggesting that Red Bull has found something fundamental in its RB21 setup and understanding.
From low-downforce circuits such as Monza to medium-speed layouts like Austin, the team’s adaptability has been striking. Even when Red Bull wasn’t the fastest in qualifying, Verstappen’s race pace was strong enough to challenge McLaren, which is a clear improvement on the first half of the season.
A new work philosophy and technical fine-tuning
So, what lies behind this transformation? Verstappen was quick to credit the new underbody introduced in Monza, yet he played down its overall importance.
“It’s more about a different philosophy,” he explained, suggesting that Red Bull’s progress is as much about mindset as machinery.
This revised approach includes subtle changes to how the team operates during race weekends. There’s a greater emphasis on driver feedback and less reliance on pure data models. According to Mekies and Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko, how the RB21 is ‘operated’ has become just as critical as its mechanical and aerodynamic evolution.
This represents a philosophical return to balance, blending computational precision with human instinct. Verstappen’s ability to sense how the car behaves in different conditions has always been one of his strengths, and Red Bull seems to be making better use of that intuition than before.
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However, not everyone is convinced that Red Bull’s success is purely down to their work philosophy. During the Austin weekend, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella suggested that the key may be aerodynamics.
“If they’ve improved their car, it might be because they’ve solved some aerodynamic issues,” he said. Stella pointed to the Monza underbody and the new front wing introduced in Singapore, noting that Verstappen and Tsunoda seem more comfortable driving the car at very low ride heights.
His theory is based on the idea that Red Bull has finally found a way to run the RB21 closer to the ground without destabilising its balance. “If I had to speculate, I’d put my money on it,” he remarked.
It’s a plausible explanation. Ground-effect cars generate most of their downforce, over 60 per cent. through the airflow beneath the floor. The closer the car runs to the ground, the greater the suction and stability. However, maintaining that low ride height is notoriously difficult, as even minor variations in surface height or suspension stiffness can cause ‘porpoising’ or floor damage.
Aerodynamic fundamentals and plank wear
To extract maximum performance, teams push the car as low as possible, right to the edge of the FIA’s regulations. The governing body requires the planks to remain at least nine millimetres thick after a race, so excessive wear caused by scraping can result in disqualification.
In Austin, the debate over floor wear resurfaced after several teams were found to be operating dangerously close to the limits. Sauber’s sporting director, Inaki Rueda, explained that teams have become increasingly clever in managing this balance.
“If a team manages to shift the wear forward, the car can be driven lower overall,” he said. “That brings a clear performance advantage.”
While most teams experience more wear towards the rear of the floor, McLaren has found ways to distribute it towards the front. Red Bull’s new underbody may have a similar effect, enabling them to maintain ultra-low ride heights without breaching wear limits. This small but significant tweak could explain the improved aerodynamic consistency seen since Monza.
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Marko confirmed the theory, but Mekies remained cautious
When asked about the rumour, Helmut Marko offered a knowing smile. Speaking to the Dutch edition of Motorsport.com, he replied, “That’s not a false assumption,” when asked whether Red Bull was running the RB21 lower than before.
He added that both the Monza underbody and the team’s improved understanding of the setup were essential to their recent success.
“Without that update, the effect wouldn’t have been as significant,” he explained.
Laurent Mekies, however, remained deliberately restrained.
“I couldn’t name a single factor,” he told reporters. “It would be an oversimplification to reduce the enormous analytical work behind the progress to a single element. It’s a combination of many smaller factors, mechanical, aerodynamic and operational.”
His caution is understandable. Modern Formula 1 performance rarely boils down to one breakthrough. Car setup, tyre management, track temperatures and even driver psychology all influence the final result. Nevertheless, it’s hard to ignore the timing of Red Bull’s improvement, it came directly after the underbody revision that allowed for lower operating heights.
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The cumulative effect of marginal gains
Red Bull’s engineers have long been adept at extracting lap time from minor details. The RB21’s recent consistency suggests that the team has finally found a “sweet spot” in the car’s setup, where it delivers optimal downforce without sacrificing tyre life or balance.
By combining subtle aerodynamic upgrades with more adaptive race-weekend operations, Red Bull appears to have widened the car’s performance window. Verstappen now reports a more predictable and responsive chassis, which is vital for building confidence when taking high-speed corners and braking.
The result is a car that performs reliably across different circuits and conditions. From the smooth straights of Monza to the bumpy tarmac of Austin, the RB21 seems less sensitive to setup variations. In Formula 1, where the margins are so fine, that stability often translates directly into victories.
What does this mean for Red Bull’s rivals?
McLaren and Ferrari will see Red Bull’s revival as an ominous sign. Red Bull’s late-year momentum has once again shifted the narrative. If the team has indeed unlocked a deeper understanding of aerodynamics, this could spell trouble for the development race in 2026, where carry-over concepts will still play a role.
Stella acknowledged that Red Bull’s technical department, led by Pierre Waché, has likely regained control of the ground-effect puzzle.
“They’ve always been strong in understanding how airflow interacts with the underfloor. Once you regain that confidence, everything else starts to click,” he admitted.
Ferrari is also aware that Red Bull’s work on the floor may influence future car concepts. The Scuderia’s engineers are reportedly studying the Monza update closely in the hope of understanding the aerodynamic flow management behind it.
A deeper understanding and a stable window
Even though Mekies refuses to attribute Red Bull’s resurgence to one single upgrade, the evidence strongly suggests a combination of improved underbody design and a better understanding of car height dynamics. Since Monza, Red Bull has consistently found the ideal operating window, not just in setup, but in how it adapts race-to-race.
Verstappen himself summarised the situation best: “We’re now able to use the potential that was already there.”
The RB21 was never a bad car; it just needed to be understood better. Now Red Bull has unlocked this knowledge, the rest of the grid faces the daunting task of closing the gap once again.
Whether this resurgence will carry Verstappen to a fifth consecutive world title remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: Red Bull has reasserted its authority in Formula 1 through a blend of precision engineering, operational discipline and an unrelenting focus on detail.
While the team’s resurgence may have started with a new underbody, it has been cemented by something far more powerful: understanding.
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Thiago Treze is a Brazilian motorsport writer at TJ13 with a background in sports journalism and broadcast media, alongside an academic foundation in engineering with a focus on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). This combination of technical knowledge and editorial experience allows Thiago to approach Formula 1 from both a performance and narrative perspective.
At TJ13, Treze covers driver performance, career developments, and key storylines across the Formula 1 grid, while also analysing the technical factors that influence competitiveness. This includes aerodynamic development trends, simulation-driven design approaches, and the engineering decisions that shape race weekend outcomes.
His reporting bridges the gap between human performance and machine development, helping readers understand how driver execution and technical innovation interact in modern Formula 1. Coverage often connects on-track events with the underlying engineering philosophies that define each team’s approach.
With a global perspective shaped by both journalism and technical study, Thiago also focuses on Formula 1’s international reach and the different ways the sport is experienced across regions.
Treze has a particular interest in how Computational Fluid Dynamics and aerodynamic modelling contribute to car performance, offering accessible explanations of complex technical concepts within Formula 1.
