Red Bull are staring down the barrel at their first F1 season without winning either of the drivers’ or constructors’ titles since 2020, and their issues are also running deep.
The team from Milton Keynes have sealed at least one championship title in each of the last four seasons since Max Verstappen won his maiden drivers’ title in 2021. But the Dutchman now sits 49 points behind Oscar Piastri after the opening nine rounds of the 2025 F1 season.
Red Bull are also only fourth in the F1 constructors’ championship and they trail McLaren by 218 points. They have not finished a season outside of the top three in the teams’ standings since finishing fourth in 2015, but are fighting one-handed with Verstappen so far this term.
Verstappen has earned 137 of Red Bull’s 144 points this year, with Yuki Tsunoda only scoring seven over his seven rounds since replacing Liam Lawson. Red Bull are expected to release Tsunoda when his contract expires after the term, such have the 25-year-old’s issues been.
Red Bull are in a ‘bad mood’ with even Sauber surpassing their pit stop success
Red Bull have struggled with through-corner balance problems in 2025, which helped create Lawson’s issues. Tsunoda is also still struggling to adapt to the RB21. But the issues in Milton Keynes go deeper than Verstappen’s lack of trust in Red Bull’s technical department, as well.
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The problems that Red Bull have faced with their pit stops during the 2025 season have also created a ‘bad mood’ in the team. That is according to Auto Motor und Sport, which reports Red Bull have become frustrated having seen even Sauber eclipse their success in pit stops.
Red Bull were the class of the field every season from 2018 to 2024, yet their mechanics are no longer serving as the example to follow for speed or consistency. Ferrari have taken over for the fastest pit stops during 2025, even though the Scuderia are focusing on consistency.
Only Sauber have recorded the fastest pit stops in a Grand Prix so far this season like Ferrari, having led the way in Miami and Barcelona. Part of the reason for the Swiss team’s progress could be due to Jonathan Wheatley leaving Red Bull to take over as Sauber’s team principal.
Jonathan Wheatley poached Red Bull’s mechanics to improve Sauber’s pit stops
Wheatley was the mastermind behind Red Bull’s speed and consistency with their pit stops while the Milton Keynes crew’s sporting director. He left Red Bull at the end of the 2025 F1 season after signing with Audi back in August 2024 to join Sauber, effective from this April.
Wheatley poached several Red Bull mechanics after joining Sauber, as well, having sought to replicate the methods and techniques that made his former employer’s pit stops so effective in recent years. But the speed of their impact at Sauber will surely have surprised Wheatley.
READ MORE: Who is 2025 Audi/Sauber team principal Jonathan Wheatley? All to know
The Briton will now want to improve Sauber’s form, having only seen Nico Hulkenberg score points with P7 in Australia and P5 in Spain. Hulkenberg took his best result in six years after Sauber’s upgrades in Spain, along with Verstappen’s penalty for driving into George Russell.
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