With pre-season testing in Bahrain now concluded, reigning world champion Max Verstappen has offered his thoughts on the RB21, the 2025 F1 challenger for Red Bull Racing, expressing cautious optimism about the improvements made over last season’s car. While the Dutchman acknowledged that it’s still early to draw firm conclusions, his initial impressions suggest the team has made a significant step forward.
A step in the right direction
Speaking during the press conference on Day 2 of testing, Max Verstappen was asked whether he felt the RB21 had taken the step Red Bull Racing F1 was hoping for, and if the car’s balance was more preferable to the RB20. The three-time world champion responded positively but kept expectations measured.
“Well, I mean, it can’t be worse than last year,” Verstappen admitted. “So, I think the direction that we are working towards is good. We just need to follow that and see how much we can extract out of that, but at the moment, it’s really early days. A lot of things that we are still discussing and wanting to improve. Like I said, I enjoyed it, and that’s already a big difference to last year.”
His comments suggest that while there are still refinements to be made, Red Bull has already addressed some of the key limitations of last season’s car.
A more pedictable machine
That was followed up as Verstappen was asked to elaborate on his earlier comments about the RB21 feeling more predictable compared to its predecessor. The Dutchman’s response indicated a well-rounded improvement.
“Um, well, everywhere,” he said. “It’s just improved everywhere compared to last year. I don’t want to go too much into detail – it’s not necessary, you know, we keep that for ourselves. But yeah, let’s see. I mean, I’ve done half a day, so there’s a lot to analyse also, but it’s positive, yeah.”
Though Verstappen remained tight-lipped on specifics, his response suggests that Red Bull has made progress in ironing out the unpredictability that occasionally plagued last year’s car.
Looking ahead to the season-opener
With testing now wrapped, Red Bull will be analysing the data gathered over the three days to fine-tune their car ahead of the Australian Grand Prix. While it’s difficult to gauge the true pecking order before the first race weekend, Verstappen’s feedback indicates that the RB21 is a step in the right direction.
As the F1 world now turns its attention to the season opener, Red Bull will be hoping their progress is enough to challenge McLaren, who enter the season as the reigning Constructors’ Champions. With just days to go until the lights go out in Melbourne, all eyes will be on Verstappen and Red Bull to see if they can get their title charge off to a flying start.
