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Red Bull is the reigning F1 constructors champions. The Austrian team has been the benchmark in the sport ever since Max Verstappen dethroned Lewis Hamilton in 2021. Since then, the team has dominated in 2022.
In 2023, it took the word dominance and gave it a whole new meaning. The team lost only one race all season and completed the most years of any team in the sport. In 2024, the team had a roaring start. Midway through the season, however, the team doesn't have the dominant car it used to anymore. The driver lineup also seems uncertain at this stage.
When you add all this up, it makes for a very interesting stage in Red Bull's F1 lifecycle where after the highs it has had, it might be on the brink of a collapse. Here's why.
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#1 Key Red Bull members have left the team
Jonathan Wheatley is not the first key Red Bull member who has left the team and he's certainly not the last. We've seen Adrian Newey leave the team this season and we've seen a bunch of other key members, including Rob Marshall, leave the squad recently.
The problem with the entire situation is that brain drain is a serious concern for any team and Red Bull is no different. This is a team that has shown that it can win sustainably for a long time. What this does is make it vulnerable to vultures trying to make a move on the grid.
Add to this the fact that, after a long time, there are far too many members of the team that are willing to make a jump as well. Brain drain impacts every team but its substantial nature has been very interesting, to say the least. It should ring alarm bells for the Austrian team and it poses a serious overall threat.
#2 The political turmoil within the team
The 2024 F1 season started with a very public feud where different factions within the team were going after the necks of each other. It started with a very public criticism by Jos Verstappen of Christian Horner. It was followed by Helmut Marko also getting involved and there being a clear divide within the team.
It's safe to say that Jos Verstappen is not the biggest fan of Christian Horner and he's often made it abundantly clear. At the same time, Helmut Marko and Horner have made it work for now but the cordial nature of old is as good as gone.
Red Bull is not the same cohesive unit or a happy family it once used to be. Any more chunks that break away now are only going to make things worse.
#3 Max Verstappen's latent anger at the team being outdeveloped
There are no two ways to say it and it's clear as day that Red Bull has been outdeveloped by the competition. The Austrian team held an advantage over the rest of the field for a sustainable period of time. That advantage is gone now and what we have is a situation where Red Bull is on the back foot.
Max Verstappen has almost always maintained that for him, the priority has been and will always be driving the best car on the grid. Red Bull doesn't have the best car and that leaves them in a vulnerable position.
How it could be averted
While we go through these points, there's certainly an element of a disaster waiting to happen for Red Bull. The internal politics are a menace, as is the fact that there has been a lot of brain drain. Having said that, there is one team on the grid that has already shown that with greater foundations in place, the squad can bounce back.
Mercedes was one team that lost Lewis Hamilton early in the season in 2024, and it has also lost a ton of key personnel. It was during this time that Toto Wolff held on to what he thought was the glue that held everything together, James Allison.
As we've seen in 2024, Mercedes has bounced back and is now one of the teams in contention for wins. If Red Bull can spend a decent amount of time consolidating what it has already in terms of talent, then there is a way out for the team.
Having said that, while it is possible because one team has done it, the Austrian is still on a very slippery slope, and one wrong move could mean things take a turn for the worst.
