Helmut Marko was relieved that Max Verstappen finally stopped doing one thing behind the scenes at Imola

Max Verstappen claimed his second win of the 2025 season at Imola. It was almost a repeat of his win at Suzuka as he won the race in dominant fashion.

Starting in P2, Verstappen overtook Oscar Piastri down into Tamburello with an unbelievable move around the outside. A safety car in the closing stages ate into his advantage, but the Dutchman pulled away again from the McLarens to claim victory.

Verstappen was compared to Juan Manuel Fangio as his win at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix moved the four-time champion 22 points behind Piastri. Red Bull took a step in the right direction at Imola as their updates to the RB21 paid off handsomely.

Red Bull brought ‘radical’ upgrades to Imola to close the gap to McLaren, including to the brakes and rear suspension. While Verstappen said tyre management was the ‘biggest problem’ with the updates, they still did remarkably well.

The 27-year-old beat Lando Norris by over six seconds, having led by almost 20 at one stage before the stoppages. It was an encouraging step forward after Verstappen had been having a frustrating time with the RB21’s difficult nature.

Helmut Marko was relieved that Max Verstappen did not complain about the RB21 at Imola

It has been no secret in 2025 that Verstappen has been largely dissatisfied with his car. The Dutchman has constantly complained about understeering and called for upgrades as McLaren pulled away from the field.

Red Bull’s understeering problem ‘disappeared’ at Imola with the new updates, prompting Verstappen to ‘explicitly praise’ the car after the race. Speaking via the ams.F1 YouTube channel, journalist Michael Schmidt said Helmut Marko was relieved the 27-year-old had no complaints about the RB21.

“Red Bull did this in two stages: the subfloor in Miami. Here in Imola, there were the cooling inlets in the sidepods, it was the wishbones of the rear suspension, it was the brake ventilation,” he said.

“A very important issue at the rear these days because you want to keep the brakes warm and the tyres cool. And that has certainly brought some progress.

“Things started badly again for Red Bull on Friday, the car was nowhere, but we’re used to that.

“But on Saturday, we had it relatively fast and stable in the window and that also expanded the setup window a bit.

“The car no longer has these balance shifts from braking to the apex, it no longer understeers. However, it still clips at the output, that has remained the case, but that doesn’t really bother Verstappen.

“So for him, the car was easy to drive and Marko told us that this was the first time that Max didn’t complain. That was like a relief for them and Max Verstappen also explicitly praised the car after the race, so it has gotten better.”

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Red Bull need to be careful with their Imola updates at other circuits

Red Bull insiders say Verstappen is ‘happier’ with the RB21 after the updates to the car at Imola. His performance proves why he cannot be counted out of the title hunt and that the Milton Keynes outfit can take the fight to McLaren.

However, Red Bull will need to have caution. Verstappen’s wins in 2025 have come at similar circuits, with fast-flowing corners proving a strength for the team compared to McLaren.

Suzuka and Imola are also significantly narrow compared to most circuits on the calendar, limiting overtaking opportunities. The Monaco Grand Prix is another example that could benefit Red Bull, but McLaren have been dominant for large spells of 2025.

Red Bull will need to work on whether they can be competitive on wider, slower tracks, especially after the flexi-wing directive comes into effect in Barcelona. In theory, this should boost their performance, but McLaren still remain the team to beat.