Max Verstappen can match Michael Schumacher as the only driver to win five titles in a row yet this season, but he enters 2025 still ‘hammering’ Red Bull about two issues.
The 27-year-old has dominated the pinnacle of motorsport over the past four years since he dethroned Lewis Hamilton with Verstappen’s first F1 drivers’ championship triumph in 2021. Red Bull have since kept their man at the top of the standings through the ground-effect era.
Teams will bid farewell to the current generation of car following the 2025 Formula 1 season with new engine and chassis regulations coming next year. Verstappen also does not start as the favourite this campaign, with Lando Norris widely tipped to win the 2025 F1 drivers’ title.
Max Verstappen is ‘hammering’ Red Bull about their 2025 F1 car’s problems with kerbs
Even Helmut Marko ranks Red Bull behind McLaren in the 2025 F1 pecking order after three days of pre-season testing. The Woking natives dethroned their rivals from Milton Keynes to win their first teams’ title since 1998 last year, and McLaren are the favourites to lift it again.
Verstappen did not leave F1 testing at the home of the Bahrain Grand Prix totally happy with Red Bull’s new car, the RB21, either. The Dutchman thinks their latest car still has ‘problems’ handling kerbs and bumps like the RB20, in which he lifted the drivers’ title with 437 points.
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Red Bull have improved their car in other ways ahead of the 2025 season starting on March 16 at the Australian Grand Prix. Yet Verstappen continues to ‘hammer’ the point to Red Bull that they must fix the RB21’s issues riding the kerbs and hitting bumps during their debriefs.
Verstappen told Motorsport.com: “In terms of balance, it now feels somewhat better when entering the corners and in the middle of the corner. But, on the other hand, there are still problems with the kerbs and the bumps.
“Those things are, of course, not our strongest points and I keep hammering that. Of course, it does not always have to be said to the outside world. But, of course, it is discussed a lot during the meetings. [The understeer] could also be better.”
Max Verstappen branded Red Bull’s 2024 car a ‘kangaroo’ due to Monaco’s bumps
Red Bull’s problems with kerbs and bumps were especially troublesome at the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix as Verstappen came home in sixth place. The Dutchman hit the finish line 13.853 seconds from P1 as Charles Leclerc won the 2024 Monaco GP to finally taste home success.
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Verstappen was also only sixth in qualifying, 0.297s slower than Leclerc as the Ferrari driver took pole position. Such were his woes that the Dutchman likened his RB20 to a ‘Kangaroo’, and Williams boss James Vowles was surprised by Red Bull’s issues with bumps in Monaco.
The Milton Keynes outfit, no doubt, would have hoped to remove or at least minimise their problems ahead of F1 testing in Bahrain – especially as many in the F1 paddock believe Red Bull do not want to bring upgrades in 2025 and make the 2026 regulations their focus early.
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