2025 Oracle Red Bull Racing F1 Team

[AR3-GP]

couple of quotes from Erik van Haren the past few days:

But anyone who claims that Verstappen would have all the power at Red Bull is wrong. [Verstappen] also disagrees with the team management's decision to intervene so quickly.

Red Bull is searching

It shows once again that the team is searching. Both in terms of drivers and in terms of the car. Team boss Christian Horner also had to admit after the Chinese Grand Prix that he has no idea what to expect from his team during the next showdown, in Japan in just under two weeks. He acknowledged that his team lacks speed. And of course that they are working hard to get things back on track. But that will also have happened in Milton Keynes during the winter and the fact is that the gap with the competition has only increased, compared to the already unconvincing 2024. It is logical that doubts will also arise with leader and four-time world champion Verstappen as to whether the team is still able to solve the problems.

doesn't really bode well for verstappen remaining for much longer in this team, to be honest

We know that EvH does not like Christian Horner...so i think the comments are "tinged" a little bit.

And of course that they are working hard to get things back on track. But that will also have happened in Milton Keynes during the winter and the fact is that the gap with the competition has only increased, compared to the already unconvincing 2024.

This is just lazy in particular. Yes Red Bull is not where it wants to be, but this framing is poor. Will he mention that Red Bull had the least windtunnel and CFD time in the 2nd half of last year, which is where the bulk of the work for RB20 was done? Of course not, because he doesn't like christian Horner (rightly or wrongly) and including that detail doesn't fit the narrative. He's just wanting to have a go at CH.

Verstappen isn't leaving because Lawson got swapped with Tsunoda. He has probably given it a second of thought and it doesn't really have anything to do with him.

[fourmula1]

He wont do bad at all. You will be suprised how he adapts.
Also... he has nothing to lose. 2025 was his last year in redbull and likely F1 according to Horner.

I'm not convinced. That side of the garage is not right.

Might be conspiracy territory but if I was a top driver I'd want the best engineers on my side, then if I knew I could work with them to set the car up better than my teammate, I wouldn't want the other side having any of that data. I'd have it written into the contract. Why would I give them a chance to compete when I can beat them before we even race. Why would I allow my teammate to use my feedback and setup to compete with me.

It's well known that max has been and continues to be completely open and forthcoming with his teammates at red bull about the setup choices/car decisions he makes, if you're suggesting that there is some subterfuge there

Contractual agreements are a long way from subterfuge. We also know they have the most clear #1 and #2 hierarchy on the grid, so I think I am suggesting that hierarchy extends well beyond just strategy options and priorities during the race. I'd set it up that way if I was in the position to do so. Why not.

[ringo]

couple of quotes from Erik van Haren the past few days:

But anyone who claims that Verstappen would have all the power at Red Bull is wrong. [Verstappen] also disagrees with the team management's decision to intervene so quickly.

Red Bull is searching

It shows once again that the team is searching. Both in terms of drivers and in terms of the car. Team boss Christian Horner also had to admit after the Chinese Grand Prix that he has no idea what to expect from his team during the next showdown, in Japan in just under two weeks. He acknowledged that his team lacks speed. And of course that they are working hard to get things back on track. But that will also have happened in Milton Keynes during the winter and the fact is that the gap with the competition has only increased, compared to the already unconvincing 2024. It is logical that doubts will also arise with leader and four-time world champion Verstappen as to whether the team is still able to solve the problems.

doesn't really bode well for verstappen remaining for much longer in this team, to be honest

They need to relearn to build fast cars that can be driven universally by any F-1 driver. Vettel and Webber days, both were high performers with the Redbull. In Riciardo and Max's time, both could extract speed.
There is no point to this car being edgy and all that macho-nerd stuff if it's not the fastest by a mile. It's literally 2nd to 3rd fastest with a peculiar feel for no good reason. It's pretty much a failed philosophy since the start of the 2024. An evolutionary dead end if you will.
This car is like a professional road bicycle with a bespoke carbon frame, slippery pedals, prickly handle bars, and seat mounted with the sharp end pointing up, all to suit one rider's liking... but yields no wins for all that weird fitment.
I don't buy the excuse from Redbull anymore that the car is like the way it is to be the fastest. McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari have shown winning cars can simply be conventional. Newey probably saw this transition to the obscure and then made his exit.

[Chuckjr]

Season just gets better by the day!! Yuki will do fine, imo. He’s got strong determination and he will step up. Dream opportunity for him. Congrats to the kid. Lawson will be fine if he holds his own in the white bull. If he doesn’t, he shouldn’t be in F1. Some drivers just can’t take the pressure F1 brings. He will have plenty of time to show if he can handle it. We know the white bull is a decent car. If he can handle the pressure he will be fine. Gasley has made a decent career for himself despite what happened.

[ringo]

Honestly, disappointed. This is classic knee-jerk media pressure chickening-out decision. So on what basis did they decide 'Lawson' and not Tsunoda in the off season ? Helmut Marko's 'driver program' is shot to pieces. First, the delay in firing Ricciardo and holding on to him for sentiment ; then clinging on to Perez for an extra season knowing what will happen ; now, throwing a youngster under the bus after just two races, which brings the question (I know I am repeating - on what basis are they deciding to assign a seat to a driver ? based on a few test laps in silverstone?).

I bet Tsunoda will do the square root of jack in the RB21. Because if they knew that he is the guy better to handle a 'knife-edge' car than Lawson, why did they give it to Lawson in the first place ? See how every angle circles back to the same fundamental question ? What is the evaluation process ? They simply don't know how to address the problem and are simply doing 'random' hoping that some 'fix' will emerge by itself. It won't. This team is gone. They have had their time. This is the kind of decision making that we usually see from teams which finish P18 and P20 in a race - absolute panic.

If I was Max's agent, I would go pitch my tent on the Aston Martin campus.

Because Yuki is probably too fast for comfort. That's the logical explanation. Also the reason why theyre gonna rinse and repeat and give Colapinto the seat. Look on Redbull's history after Daniel.. All their drivers apart from Perez had less than 1.5 season's experience. It's no coincidence.

[TeamKoolGreen]

Season just gets better by the day!! Yuki will do fine, imo. He’s got strong determination and he will step up.

The second Red Bull car goes far beyond sporting cliches like "strong determination" and "stepping up"

The reason Lawson was chosen was because versatility was one of his strong suits growing up. He won his first race in 3 different categories that he came through. He won his debut race going into DTM at Monza in 2021. He should have won the title but lost it in the last race in a controversial situation. Alex Albon finished 6th. He finished 2nd.

Liam Lawson won the Toyota Racing series title in 2019.

And for some comparison, Lawson , Colipinto and Tsunoda were all in the 2020 field. Lawson got 2nd, Franco Colipinto got 3rd and Yuki Tsunoda got 4th.

[AR3-GP]

The gap between Max and fastest racing Bull in qualy so far:

Australia: 2 tenths
China: 2.5 tenths.

Yuki doesn't have much margin to be slower than Max on paper, even if he's doing a great job, and better than Perez and Lawson. If you go by the famous Perez 3 tenths requirement, then Perez would have been outqualified by the Racing Bulls even if he managed to keep it within 3 tenths of Max. Those Racing Bulls are ridiculous

[KimiRai]

If I was Max's agent, I would go pitch my tent on the Aston Martin campus.

You think they haven't already done so?

[organic]

If I was Max's agent, I would go pitch my tent on the Aston Martin campus.

You think they haven't already done so?

What do you know

[KimiRai]

I know nothing I'm just guessing. If there were talks with Mercedes... surely there were some already, however quick and passing, with Aston. Verstappen.com Racing now being involved with Aston in endurance facilitates communication. There were already some rumours this year but admittedly it wasn't the best source. It will be a good sign if there are further rumours next and from better sources

At the moment Aston are still not getting off the ground so it is premature. But Alonso isn't performing well anymore so the day Max knocks on the door with intentions it will be quick. You are not going to replace Alonso with a mid tier driver, Lawrence Stroll will go for the best.

[CHT]

Yuki driving RB21 at Suzuka will be a massive marketing campaign for Redbull energy drinks and sponsors.
All Yuki needs to do is to get into Q3 and finish the race in points in front of Japanese fans.

If Lawson can deliver a stunning result with Racing Bull, then he will likely remain at Racing Bull for the rest of the reason because
RBR may not want to allocate resources to make the RB21 more drivable for Lawson if Yuki can deliver good result.

[Farnborough]

lol, imagine if Lawson in Racing Bull qualifies ahead of Tsunoda in Red Bull.

Imagine ? Lawson has a lot of experience at Suzuka. He also beat Tsunoda in his 4th ever F1 start at Suzuka in 2023.

It wouldn't surprise me if RBR expects the RB cars to beat the 2nd Red Bull. They would be happy if its a Q2 exit and top 12 finish.

The thing about Tsunoda and Hadjar for that matter is, they are the types that would crash out rather than exit in Q1 or finish last.

That is my prediction. Tsunoda will show more speed in the RBR but also crash is at some point. Proper tub loss kind of crash.

An awful lot of "would" guess you must work there

[restless]

6 months ago I asked "Why Lawson and not Tsunoda"...

Someone in RB has no balls to stay for his own decisions.
Team disintegration in progress.

[Sergej]

couple of quotes from Erik van Haren the past few days:

But anyone who claims that Verstappen would have all the power at Red Bull is wrong. [Verstappen] also disagrees with the team management's decision to intervene so quickly.

Red Bull is searching

It shows once again that the team is searching. Both in terms of drivers and in terms of the car. Team boss Christian Horner also had to admit after the Chinese Grand Prix that he has no idea what to expect from his team during the next showdown, in Japan in just under two weeks. He acknowledged that his team lacks speed. And of course that they are working hard to get things back on track. But that will also have happened in Milton Keynes during the winter and the fact is that the gap with the competition has only increased, compared to the already unconvincing 2024. It is logical that doubts will also arise with leader and four-time world champion Verstappen as to whether the team is still able to solve the problems.

doesn't really bode well for verstappen remaining for much longer in this team, to be honest

Well I believe whoever thinks that Max will stay in Red Bull for long is deluding himself. For me it's clear his future is elsewhere.

[CHT]

couple of quotes from Erik van Haren the past few days:

But anyone who claims that Verstappen would have all the power at Red Bull is wrong. [Verstappen] also disagrees with the team management's decision to intervene so quickly.

Red Bull is searching

It shows once again that the team is searching. Both in terms of drivers and in terms of the car. Team boss Christian Horner also had to admit after the Chinese Grand Prix that he has no idea what to expect from his team during the next showdown, in Japan in just under two weeks. He acknowledged that his team lacks speed. And of course that they are working hard to get things back on track. But that will also have happened in Milton Keynes during the winter and the fact is that the gap with the competition has only increased, compared to the already unconvincing 2024. It is logical that doubts will also arise with leader and four-time world champion Verstappen as to whether the team is still able to solve the problems.

doesn't really bode well for verstappen remaining for much longer in this team, to be honest

Well I believe whoever thinks that Max will stay in Red Bull for long is deluding himself. For me it's clear his future is elsewhere.

Max future doesnt lies in fans' prediction unless is predicting the inevitable such as retirement. His decision will depend in team performance and bonus. If RB can deliver 2026 RB22 as a winner, Max will be going nowhere.
2026 will be year for Max management to shop around, until then, its all just guessing.