Christian Horner says Red Bull’s updates at Imola allowed the team to outperform McLaren in a crucial area for the first time in 2025.

With Verstappen delivering what turned out to be quite a comfortable win at Imola as neither Oscar Piastri nor Lando Norris ever seriously tackled the Red Bull driver’s lead, Horner reckons the team’s updates to the RB21 allowed them to outperform McLaren in tyre longevity for the first time since the tail end of 2024.

Christian Horner: Red Bull starting to build momentum

Verstappen’s win moved him to within 22 points of championship leader Oscar Piastri but, more importantly for the Dutch driver, his win was not dependent on circumstances nor track characteristics enabling an easier defence.

Having looked to have fallen to third off the line, Verstappen sailed around the outside of George Russell and the leading Piastri to take the commanding position into Turn 2 and, from there, proved unassailable.

Over the first quarter of the season, Red Bull’s RB21 looked quick and competent over a single lap but lacked a little outright pace and, more critically, had an imbalance which meant its tyre life was not as good as that of McLaren’s MCL39.

But updates rolled out across the Saudi Arabian, Miami, and Emilia Romagna Grands Prix weekends resulted in Verstappen snatching a front-row start and, having taken the lead on the first lap, set about pulling away from Piastri – a feat he achieved with far more ease than has been seen from Red Bull this season.

As analysed by our tech editor Matt Somerfield during the weekend, the changes to the Red Bull at Imola included a revised sidepod arrangement, seeing a similar mid-wing arrangement to that of McLaren.

In conjunction with the floor changes from Miami, the car proved capable of keeping its tyres alive in what was something of a role reversal from what McLaren achieved two weeks ago – Verstappen proved able to commit to a one-stop, without any significant drop-off in lap time, while it was Piastri who dived into the pits on Lap 13 after encountering some tyre graining.

“I think, definitely, we’ve managed to put some performance on the car and to get the car into a better window,” Horner told media, including PlanetF1.com, after Verstappen’s controlled win.

“As soon as you take away the sliding, you’re able to manage the temperature a lot better. That was really encouraging.

“I think the first stint was really encouraging because we could see that he was managing more than the guys behind, so he was driving very smartly and still pulling out a gap.

“That’s always a happy place to be in. So you get the longevity. It’s the first time in quite a while that we’ve been in that position.

“So then the next stint was really about bringing the tyre in gently and not thrashing it. Likewise, the final stint was a straight, 10-lap race to the end and he was able to really get the hammer down.

“So, at all points, the management, the pace, and the deg were very good today.”

It’s not since a crucial race towards the end of the 2024 season, also won by Verstappen, that Horner believes Red Bull outperformed McLaren in the area of tyre degradation.

“On Friday, the McLarens again looked very, very fast on the long runs, but, to have the pace that we did in the race, I would say it’s probably since Brazil last year, which was obviously a wet race, is the first I can remember in a long time we’ve had the pace to really pull away and out-deg the McLaren,” he said.

“So that’s very encouraging, and a great result for the effort that’s gone in behind the scenes.”

It’s 12 months on since Red Bull’s dominance of F1 came to an end, as its 2024 car fell off the boil as the upgrades made to that car failed to keep it at the head of the pack.

Many of those problems came about as a result of its wind tunnel data not corresponding with the real world, and Horner believes a positive step has been taken to understand the correlation issues which have held back the team over the last year.

“I think we’re starting to understand and, obviously, we’re dealing with the upgrades that were mainly focused on characteristics, rather than ultimate downforce,” he said.

“We’ve managed to address, hopefully subtly, some of the characteristics, which is encouraging for the upcoming races.”

But, before Red Bull’s relief at getting its progress back on track can be fully realised, key questions remain about whether or not the Imola circuit simply was kind to the RB21.

Red Bull technical director Pierre Waché revealed after the race that the tyre degradation had a “different mechanism” at the Italian venue but laughed and declined to go into much detail when asked to elaborate.

“Clearly, the wear and the surface of the tyre were completely different than what we saw Friday,” he said, before joking that he “doesn’t have any confidence anywhere”.

“We won Japan, and we were destroyed in Bahrain and in Miami. Clearly, it’s not granted. They develop and they have a very good car. You still have to push hard.”

Being quite a low tyre deg circuit, the hot and challenging conditions as encountered in Miami simply weren’t to be seen – might such performances be completely contingent on the track, as opposed to improvements to the car?

“I think, generally, we’re getting a better grip and a better understanding, and I think that the technical team has been working very hard on it,” Horner concluded.

“That’s a second win and, arguably, we should have won in Jeddah. It’s been a very positive weekend and we’re beginning to build a bit of momentum, which is important at this stage in the championship.”

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