Red Bull Racing have had a challenging start to the F1 2025 season when compared to its previous dominance, but that could all be about to change.

Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko has noted that there are upgrades on the horizon for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Helmut Marko pinpoints burning McLaren question amid Imola upgrades

Max Verstappen may have had the one-lap pace to secure pole position at the Miami Grand Prix, but the RB21 still can’t compete with McLaren when it comes to race pace.

It’s been an issue plaguing the Red Bull Racing team all season long; its form started to slip midway through 2024, and the team wasn’t able to make any significant headway coming into 2025.

Making things more challenging is the fact that a revitalized regulatory set is in the works for 2026 — meaning that most teams are already in the process of building their new car in hopes of arriving at the season opener with a machine capable of winning races.

The more time you spend tweaking your 2025 challenger, the less time you’ll have to sort out your 2026 car. And for Red Bull, there’s a big incentive to get out of the gate strong in 2026.

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But coming into the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola, Helmut Marko has revealed to oe24 that Red Bull Racing will be arriving with some tweaks that should — in theory, at least — improve the performance of the RB21.

Upon being asked about the prospects for Imola, and what the team will do to improve, Marko replied, “That we will get new parts.”

But parts alone do not a competitive car make — and Marko was quick to point that out.

“The question is whether this will bring us closer to McLaren,” the former driver said.

“They have an incredible car that is insanely strong in its complexity. Max’s pole position [in Miami] — we have to be honest — only came about because both McLarens and [Kimi] Antonelli in the Mercedes made mistakes on the last attempt.”

Marko again reiterated that Red Bull wasn’t “fast enough,” but that “the McLaren can go at an incredible speed.”

The upgrades will be make-or-break for the team, though it currently isn’t clear exactly what Red Bull will introduce. Drivers like Max Verstappen have been vocal about the RB21’s struggles, with Verstappen saying that there isn’t any one problem.

“It’s a combination of things,” the champion told Autosport in April, “and the issues are also a little bit different again at every track.”

If the Imola upgrades aren’t the slam dunk the team is hoping for, Red Bull can also look forward to the Spanish Grand Prix, when the FIA will begin clamping down on the flexi-wings that have enabled McLaren to carve out such an advantage over the competition.

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