With an involved driver and a motivated team, Red Bull hopes to come back stronger in 2025. But the competition seems ready to catch up.
Despite a world title acquired in Las Vegas by Max Verstappen, Red Bull no longer dominates as much as before. The developments introduced in Austin brought a slight improvement, but the Milton Keynes team seems to have reached the limits of its concept, making the RB20 more difficult to operate at the end of the 2024 F1 season.
While 2024 will mark a year of regulatory stability, Red Bull technical director Pierre Waché does not hesitate to display a certain pessimism. Is it a way to motivate your teams or a real worry about the future?
A pessimism…strategic?
For Waché, lack of confidence is a necessary condition for progress. “If you trust, you are dead”
he declares bluntly. He emphasizes the importance of maintaining constant pressure to continue to extract every ounce of performance from the car.
Awareness at Red Bull accelerated after the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, a pivotal moment according to Waché:
“This weekend highlighted issues with the car that we suspected but had not yet fully identified. The response from the team was impressive, and from Austin we made significant improvements.”
2023: unexpected domination
For Waché, it is not the current competition that surprises, but rather the prolonged domination of Red Bull. “What we see today is what we expected from 2023”
he explains, recalling that Ferrari had gotten off to a better start in 2022.
The technical director points out the errors of other teams, like McLaren, which was slow to find the right rhythm this season. “It’s not that we did an exceptional job, but rather that our rivals missed opportunities at key moments” he analyzes.
Objectives for 2025: a more versatile Red Bull
Pierre Waché sets a clear priority for the coming seasons: designing a car that performs on a wider variety of circuits, particularly those with slow corners and long straights, such as Las Vegas or Monza.
“We need to improve areas where the RB20 is less competitive” he admits. This could include the development of specific rear wings, an absence this season which has drawn criticism from Max Verstappen.
Verstappen, active leader for the RB21
Helmut Marko has confirmed that Max Verstappen will play a key role in the development of the next car, the RB21. “Max has established himself as a true leader, working with engineers to correct current weaknesses” indicates the Austrian advisor.
With an involved driver and a motivated team, Red Bull hopes to come back stronger in 2025. But the competition seems ready to catch up, making the next season even more uncertain.
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