Max Verstappen, the reigning champion of Formula 1, exudes confidence in Red Bull’s new RB21, asserting that it is a significant improvement over its predecessor, RB20. Despite clinching his fourth consecutive championship title and securing nine race victories in the 2024 season, Verstappen and his team were frequently troubled by the RB20’s persistent balance issues, which resulted in a disappointing streak of 10 races without a win.
The Red Bull team has, therefore, made it a priority to engineer a more compliant and predictable vehicle for the 2025 Formula 1 season. Verstappen, while speaking to a select group of journalists, including representatives from Motorsport Week, confirmed that Red Bull’s efforts have been successful.
He optimistically states, “It can’t be worse than last year… the direction that we’re working into is good, so we just need to follow that and see how much we can extract out of that.” However, Verstappen cautions that it is still early days and there are areas that need improvement.
Verstappen’s positive outlook stems from his initial experience with the RB21 during the four-hour run on the first day of pre-season testing, with Liam Lawson being assigned a full day of running on the second day. Despite the limited time, Verstappen was able to discern some key traits of the RB21 at the Bahrain International Circuit.
The champion racer was pleased with his initial experience, stating, “The car was quite easy to drive… I enjoyed it… it’s a bit more predictable.” Nevertheless, he candidly admits that the RB20 also demonstrated commendable performance at the same venue in 2024, going on to win the Grand Prix.
Verstappen is hopeful that the lessons learned from the previous year will benefit the team in the upcoming season. He further acknowledges that different tracks, like the one in Australia, will present new challenges. When probed about the areas where the RB21 has outperformed the RB20, Verstappen chose to remain reticent, stating cryptically, “It’s just improved everywhere compared to last year, I don’t want to go too much into details. We can keep that for ourselves.”
This announcement from Verstappen undoubtedly heightens the anticipation for the upcoming season, as fans and competitors alike await to see if the new Red Bull RB21 lives up to the champion’s confident assertions.
