122-win F1 team are already ‘doubting themselves’ weeks before the 2025 season begins

The 2025 Formula 1 season begins with the Australian Grand Prix in just under eight weeks’ time. Before that, the teams will head to Bahrain at the end of February for pre-season testing.

The competitive landscape heading into the year is markedly different to 12 months ago. McLaren are the defending champions, a sentence nobody in the F1 paddock expected to be uttering.

Red Bull had set new records for dominance in 2023 and looked likely to challenge them when they won four of the first five rounds at a canter. However, the Bulls were the big losers in the development race, slipping behind McLaren and Ferrari.

Had Sergio Perez been a reasonable distance away from Max Verstappen, Red Bull would likely have retained their title. But the gaping void between the two presented an opportunity, and Zak Brown’s squad took it.

Lando Norris is arguably the 2025 title favourite as a consequence. Ferrari were close enough – just 14 points – that Charles Leclerc and new signing Lewis Hamilton can legitimately dream of the championship too.

Mercedes, as has been the case since the start of 2022, are an unknown. Based on their best days last year, they could be a dark horse, but based on their worst, they’re likely to be fourth once again.

Red Bull’s ‘diva’ car sews doubts ahead of Max Verstappen title defence

Red Bull were in a serene position at the start of 2024. Verstappen extended that early run of four from five to seven from 10, even as McLaren wiped out their margin.

But a 10-race winless run followed, and they weren’t even a contender at most of those events. The car, based on the radio communications from the drivers, became extremely difficult to drive.

F1-Insider journalist Ralf Bach describes it as a ‘diva’, particularly sensitive to temperature changes, the smoothness of the tarmac and other variables. The engineers struggled to understand it.

Verstappen spotted what was going wrong in the data, and Red Bull will hope they’ve found a long-term fix. But there are still concerns at Milton Keynes, because they know he won’t have a cushion to rely on at the first race in Melbourne.

“Red Bull are doubting themselves at the moment,” Bach said. “What you hear is that the car was a diva. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t.

“Max always tried to make the best of it and he succeeded, but in terms of a whole season – 24 races – it will be very difficult for him to defend the title if that car is too far away from the McLaren and Ferrari, or even the powerful Mercedes. Red Bull has to find something to make the car, above all, consistently faster.”

Red Bull insist they told the truth in surprising FIA document

Verstappen expects Mercedes to be ahead of Red Bull in 2026 following the regulation changes. He knows that Christian Horner’s squad are setting up their own powertrains division and may need time to match their more established competitors.

The question is whether the Dutchman will give them that time. He’ll surely want to extend his dominance into a new era.

His focus for now will be on matching Michael Schumacher’s F1 record of five straight titles. His performance levels last year suggest he’ll be in the mix until Abu Dhabi if his car is even close to the McLaren and Ferrari.

An Austin upgrade appeared to correct the team’s course, enabling Verstappen to win the US Sprint and Qatar GP. The developments were smaller on paper than many expected, but Red Bull are adamant they didn’t ‘lie’ in the FIA document.