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Red Bull Racing consultant, Helmut Marko, has spoken out about the potential that the team's 2025 challenger has within it, but it is proving hard to bring out on track. The team boss also explained that the issues they are currently facing aren't new, revealing that the problems related to the tyres heating up and the car sliding have been bothering the Austrian outfit and its drivers since last year.
Speaking with Auto Motor Und Sport, who described the RB21 as a "mystery car," Marko highlighted the elusive nature of the car's abilities.
"This car has great potential, but it is difficult to realise."
The Red Bull team boss also revealed the time when these issues started popping up.
"We've been struggling with them since the race in Imola last year," Marko said.
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Last year, after scoring back-to-back constructors' championships in 2022 and 2023, the RBR team ended up finishing third in their battle for the title, missing out by 77 points. Part of the reason they missed out on the third-year win was their second driver, Sergio Perez, who only achieved 152 points after multiple DNFs, low or no points finishes, and failed to impress after the fifth race of the season.
Meanwhile, Max Verstappen scored 285 points over his teammate, helping him secure his fourth consecutive drivers' championship title.
This season, the defending champ has been facing issues, after a solitary win at the end of the Japanese Grand Prix, and two second-place finishes in Saudi Arabia and Australia, Verstappen currently sits in third place in the drivers' standings. Looking at 2024, the Dutchman had won four out of the first five races.
After switching around their drivers at the start of the season, Red Bull has still relied mainly on Verstappen's efforts, who has given them a total of 87 out of the 89 points they currently have, placing them third in their title battle.
"I had too much understeer in the car": Max Verstappen opens up on Red Bull car performance in Saudi Arabia
Last weekend, F1 was at the Jeddah Circuit in Saudi Arabia, where Max Verstappen secured pole position ahead of Sunday's race. However, after a first lap tussle with Piastri and a five-second penalty, the Red Bull driver ended up finishing the Grand Prix in second. Discussing the performance of the RB21, Verstappen admitted that the car was difficult at certain places on track due to understeer, but still went on to say that the overall race was good.
“On the hard tyre, I have to say that it was a little bit more difficult, I had too much understeer in the car and then you can’t really attack corners, but overall, still a very good race for us,” said Verstappen [via F1]
While Verstappen's second place gave Red Bull another 18 points to their name, the Dutchman's teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, unfortunately crashed in the opening lap of the event, ending his race and a chance for the team to score a second set of points.
