Nigel Mansell shares what he’s ‘heard’ from F1 contacts about Max Verstappen’s unseen 2025 car

Max Verstappen and Red Bull may have showcased their (largely unchanged) 2025 livery at the F1 75 launch on Tuesday. But the real car is yet to break cover.

The teams were only obliged to reveal their designs for the upcoming season at the London event. Rather than letting rivals photograph the fine details of their challengers, they were able to use show cars.

McLaren, Williams and Haas have all held shakedowns at Silverstone, presenting the first spying opportunities. Racing Bulls and Ferrari did the same in Italy on Wednesday.

But Red Bull aren’t planning to hold a traditional launch in this unusual off-season. Instead, Verstappen and new teammate Liam Lawson will take to the Bahrain track for a filming day on Tuesday, the day before pre-season testing.

Verstappen is, as has been widely publicised, looking to match Michael Schumacher with a fifth straight title this season. Broadly, two of his championships have been dominant, and the others hard-fought.

Last season, Verstappen won nine races – five more than anyone else – en route to the trophy. However, only two of those came in the final 14 races as the chasing pack caught up, and indeed overtook, Red Bull.

Nigel Mansell has heard good things about Max Verstappen’s 2025 F1 car

Speaking to The Daily Mail, F1 legend Nigel Mansell expressed his excitement for the season ahead. He sees title challengers across multiple teams.

The Englishman believes Lando Norris could have beaten Verstappen last season had he not lost so many points early on. Indeed, Norris says McLaren must address their ‘shocking’ record of starting the season slowly.

Mansell also called attention to George Russell, who finished sixth last season. Martin Brundle expects Mercedes to be a ‘one-horse team’ this year following the signing of teenager Kimi Antonelli.

But Verstappen remains the man to beat, and Mansell has heard that there’s optimism over the RB21. That’s an ominous sign for Norris and co., who may have hoped the team’s relative struggles would continue.

“The exciting thing about F1 in 2025 is that Max won’t lie down with Red Bull,” he said. “I’ve heard Red Bull have done a good job with the car over the winter.

“McLaren were outstanding last year and if they got their act together a little bit sooner, they could have won the [drivers’] championship so both Lando and Piastri are going to be challenging. And, of course, you mustn’t forget Mercedes with George Russell.

“Toto Wolff is not there to make up the numbers. We’ve got four fantastic teams and an incredible 2025 to look forward to.”

How much Red Bull spent on F1 75 launch that went wrong

‘Disaster’ would be an exaggeration, but Red Bull certainly won’t be happy with how F1 75 panned out. Christian Horner was roundly booed when he appeared on stage, and there was also some perceptible hostility towards Verstappen.

Neither Red Bull driver was interviewed, a decision that had been made in advance. Each team had a seven-minute window to fill as they liked.

It’s emerged that Red Bull spent a whopping £800,000 on their spectacle, which featured a group of dancers behind their two drivers. Only their marketing department can say whether that was a worthwhile investment, but from the outside, it seems their image may have suffered.

The dominant teams and drivers in F1 are often unpopular, but Verstappen’s controversial on-track tactics have perhaps added an extra edge.