While Max Verstappen’s victory at the Japan Grand Prix made us think that Red Bull had some advantages in his round, the disappointing results of the Bahrain test set the record straight for everyone. The sixth place in Dutch, after having fought for 15 laps with an Alpine, and the ninth place of Yuki Tsunoda, brought the leaders of the Austrian team to a “crisis” meeting rushed just after the end of the race.
The strong words of Helmut Marko arrested, notably referring to the fact that nothing had gone as planned during the Bahrain Grand Prix, where the strategy, tires and stops at the stand had not worked. But beyond the course of this race, it is the RB21 which seems to lack performance compared to its rivals.
Christian Horner, the director of Red Bull, admitted that the car was suffering from technical problems “similar” To those with whom the stable was already fighting last year. But the British boss said the biggest problem came from a lack of correlation between the data found at the factory and those recovered on the track.
“In the end, we can hide it a little thanks to the settings, and we were able to do it in Suzuka, but I think this race [à Bahreïn] has highlighted certain traps which are clearly very clear, and which we must master very quickly “said Horner.
“I think we understand where the problems are, it is the introduction of solutions that obviously takes a little more time. I think that the problems are understood. The problem is that the solutions with what we see in our tools in relation to what we see on the track at the moment are not in correlation, and I think that is what we must understand. Why can’t we see what we see on the circuit?”
Max Verstappen during the GP of Bahrain.
Photo de: Clive Rose / Getty Images
The year 2025 being the last year of the current regulations, no car of the grid was the subject of a major revision during the winter. Nevertheless, some teams like Haas and Mercedes have achieved net earnings in terms of performance, while Red Bull does not seem to correct the problems that affected its end of the 2024 season.
“It’s similar [à 2024] – Mainly the blower has led us in a direction which does not reproduce what we do on the track and therefore, we end up with a mixture between what the tools tell us and what the data of the track tell us and therefore, obviously, now that we accumulate track data, it is the latter which lead the solutions “Horner added.
“I think it is clear that we understand the problem, it is a question of implementing the solution. It is the entry phase in the middle of the turn which must be set. Give it it [à Verstappen] The capacity, the grip and the confidence which allows the speed to the input of the turns. This is fundamentally a problem of aerodynamics, and we must be able to give it this grip. “
“The problem we have is that we are at the end of a set of regulations where the gains are very, very marginal and I think we see some of the gaps in our current blower.”
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“The problem we have is that we are at the end of a set of regulations where the gains are very, very marginal and I think we see some of the gaps in our current blower”a conclu Horner. “A new blower will be put into service in 2027, but the current tool will certainly remain in service for another 18 months.”
“This is a 24 -racing championship, we are eight points behind in the pilot championship and we know that we have to progress very quickly, so it’s important to score points … It is the way they add up in the end.”
Red Bull is currently third in the 14 -point manufacturer championship ahead of Ferrari and 22 points behind Mercedes. Among the pilots, Max Verstappen has returned third in the ranking, overwhelmed by Oscar Piastri after the Australian victory in Bahrain. Lando Norris is still a leader, three small units in front of his teammate and Dauphin.
Avec Mark Mann-Bryans et Ronald Vording
