Red Bull entered the 2025 season hoping to reclaim the Constructors’ Championship from rivals McLaren after finishing third in the standings last year. But five races in, the issues from 2024 seem to be lingering, with balance problems continuing to plague the RB21’s potential and leaving the team well off McLaren’s pace.
Despite Max Verstappen—thanks to his generational brilliance—eking out a win in Japan, Red Bull sits third in the standings once again, 99 points behind the Woking-based squad. Just ahead of them is Mercedes, 22 points clear, having made far greater strides over F1’s winter break. Verstappen, understandably, isn’t happy about the situation.
His performances have kept Red Bull in the mix, but if things don’t change, the Milton Keynes-based outfit will lose out on any chance to compete for the crown. The Dutchman has complained about the RB21’s shortcomings on several occasions, and to counter them, Red Bull is set to bring in changes.
Chief advisor Helmut Marko, talking about the same, sounded confident about their fortunes turning. The Austrian suggested that his team is in the process of clearly identifying the problems with its car.
Once those issues are understood, he believes steady progress will follow, progress that will slowly guide them back toward the front of the grid. Speaking about next month’s race in Imola—Ferrari’s first home race of the season, the other being Monza—Marko said, as quoted by Motorsport,
“We will take small steps, and I think that for Imola, we should be in a position where we will also have the speed to beat McLaren”.
Ted Kravitz: “We know that the Red Bull upgrade package is coming for Imola.”
[@SkySportsF1] pic.twitter.com/iMX5vOva6I
— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) April 6, 2025
McLaren, of course, is expected to set the benchmark and will continue to have the favorite tag next to its name. But Ferrari, another team with a slow start to the 2025 campaign, is also set to bring upgrades to the SF-25 and could be in contention for the win.
Mercedes, meanwhile, appears to be more consistent than it has been in previous years, which also makes it a threat. The first major development race of the season is set to take place at the Emilia-Romagna GP, an event that could shape the title battle, as it also marks the start of this year’s second triple-header.
Imola will be immediately followed by the Monaco GP and then the Spanish GP, where Red Bull is expected to implement changes to its front wing. Those three weeks could well and truly make or break Red Bull’s season.
