Red Bull Insider Warns of Strong 2025 Season After Resolving Car Issues

Oct 23, 2022; Austin, Texas, USA; Helmut Marko (left) and Red Bull Racing Limited driver Max Verstappen (right) of Team Netherlands celebrate winning the U.S. Grand Prix F1 race at Circuit of the Americas. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko has hinted at a strong season ahead for his team after revealing that Red Bull has fixed issues that affected the car's performance last year. Red Bull suffered from balance problems on the RB20, which became evident in the second half of the 2024 season, affecting performance considerably, and leading to the team losing the Constructors' Championship to McLaren and Ferrari.

The Milton Keynes outfit saw a dominant start in the previous season, but as the Grand Prix weekends went by, former driver Sergio Perez was the first to be affected by the problem. The races around the summer break saw Max Verstappen grapple with similar issues on his car, which understeered frequently. While Red Bull introduced corrections in Austin, the issue was reportedly not fully resolved. However, Verstappen's early-season dominance ensured he could still clinch his fourth championship title.

After a solid opening day of pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit, Marko explained that the RB21 now feels "normal" and "predictable" following the team's adjustments over the winter break. Notably, the RB21 is Red Bull's first car developed without input from legendary designer Adrian Newey, who is set to join Aston Martin. Speaking to Motorsport.com, as quoted by RacingNews365, Marko said:

"But this is not the first race yet huh, maybe things will change.

"The long runs were very competitive.

"Max was even the fastest in those. The car is more predictable and reacts in a normal way. 

"All the problems we had last year have been greatly improved or even fixed."

Verstappen spoke on similar lines about the RB21, saying that the opening day of testing was filled with "good surprises." He was third fastest in testing behind George Russell and Lando Norris. He told F1:

“From the driving I did today everything felt good.

“Only good surprises which was good.

“We don’t know pace yet but everything is working well and the car is doing what I want it to do. It is all in control and that is what we can hope for really to start off my testing.

“We are constantly learning and trying different things and will continue to do so. It is not about hitting the perfect lap but it is about working on our testing programme and learning what direction we need to push the car forwards to get it under control.”