Red Bull told why they shouldn’t get their hopes up catching McLaren despite upcoming Spanish Grand Prix rule change

The outstanding trend from the first five race weekends of the 2025 Formula 1 season is that McLaren are still the team to beat in the paddock.

After winning last season’s constructors’ championship narrowly ahead of Ferrari, McLaren have taken another step forward this year.

While Ferrari’s design choices have left them going backwards, Red Bull and Mercedes have stepped up.

They’re not quite on the same level as Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris yet, but Max Verstappen and George Russell have been two of the standout drivers on the grid this season.

Typically, this close to a rule change, it would be hard to see any manufacturer commit the resources required to topple McLaren at the top of the standings.

However, a technical directive coming into force at the Spanish Grand Prix that limits the flexibility of each team’s front wings could negatively impact McLaren more than some of their rivals.

Unfortunately, it might not be the game-changing rule Red Bull are hoping for based on what technical expert and journalist Matthew Somerfield has suggested.

READ MORE: All you need to know about Red Bull Racing from engine to Ford links

Red Bull could be impacted by F1 front-wing flexing rule just as much as McLaren

Somerfield was speaking on the Missed Apex podcast and it was put to him that the upcoming rule change in Spain could harm McLaren, with Red Bull hoping the regulation update will give them an advantage.

However, he explained: “I mean, that would be what would happen if only McLaren had a flexi wing, surely?

“But as we know, they all have flexi wings just to a different degree, and obviously, as we know, McLaren have been singled out by their closest rival, Red Bull, because they believe it is a contributing factor to their pace.

“However, I would also argue that I’ve probably seen the Red Bull flexing a huge amount throughout the course of the first five races that we’ve had this season.

“So, tit for tat, everybody’s at it. Will McLaren get pulled back in terms of performance? Yes. Will everybody else get pulled back in performance? Yes.

“If we look at how much flexing is going on, they’re way above the limit when the car is moving, which is obvious, because you can’t make anything infinitely rigid.

“And they obviously are using that to their advantage in terms of the way it comes across to people.

“But all of these teams are able to get past the load and deflection tests, and all they’re doing is moving the needle.”

READ MORE: All you need to know about McLaren F1 Team from team principal to engine

Max Verstappen leading Red Bull’s efforts to catch McLaren this season

While there have been plenty of changes on one side of the Red Bull garages this season with Yuki Tsunoda replacing Liam Lawson, Verstappen has been concentrating on finding solutions to the RB21’s shortcomings.

Team principal Christian Horner has seen Verstappen working harder than ever at the team’s factory this year.

This isn’t unusual behaviour from the four-time world champion, as his understanding of his car is one of his strongest attributes.

Last season, Verstappen was making changes Red Bull’s factory were unaware of during some race weekends as they slipped further away from McLaren and Ferrari.

He may have to take his set-up changes into his own hands once again, although the past few race weekends have highlighted the progress Red Bull can make between practice and qualifying.

The Miami Grand Prix poses a different problem for Red Bull, with just one hour of running available to them before Sprint qualifying.