Red Bull’s latest update package has just made an F1 car trait that Max Verstappen was ‘allergic’ to disappear

Max Verstappen looked back to his best at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix as he dominated a Formula 1 race for the first time this season.

Although it wasn’t his first victory of the 2025 campaign, Max Verstappen was imperious at Imola on Sunday.

In Japan, Verstappen produced the qualifying lap of a lifetime and his finest defensive driving performance to stand on the top step of the podium.

The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix demonstrated that Red Bull had taken a step forward thanks to their latest update package.

Verstappen got the better of Oscar Piastri at the first corner and opened up a significant lead over the Australian and his teammate Lando Norris at the start of the race.

He repeated that feat later on in the Grand Prix after the safety car ended, forcing McLaren team principal Andrea Stella to admit his outfit weren’t on the same level as their rivals.

Red Bull brought a ‘radical’ upgrade to Imola and while Verstappen still had one issue with the update package, overall it did a remarkably good job.

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Red Bull’s understeer issue ‘disappeared’ at Imola after latest update package

A report from the German outlet Auto Motor und Sport has shared more details about how Red Bull managed to topple McLaren at one of Ferrari’s home tracks on the F1 calendar.

Red Bull installed a new floor on Verstappen’s car in Miami and modified the RB21’s sidepods for Imola alongside the rear wishbone and brake vents.

Helmut Marko suggested that ‘it will take time until this works as well as it does at McLaren,’ but the new parts appear to make it easier to manage the temperature of the rear tyres.

Verstappen no longer had to deal with a change in the car’s balance between turning into a corner and hitting the apex, meaning the mid-corner understeer disappeared.

However, there were still signs of oversteer exiting the corner, although this is something Verstappen has had to deal with in the past.

Red Bull once again had to make significant changes to the RB21’s set-up between practice and qualifying, although this seems to work in their favour, as none of their rivals ever truly know what Verstappen is capable of when it comes to the final run in qualifying.

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Why understeer is Max Verstappen’s greatest enemy in Formula 1

Formula 1 strategist and pundit Ruth Buscombe Divey previously said Verstappen was ‘allergic’ to understeer, such was his hatred of that particular car characteristic.

Verstappen, speaking at the beginning of the 2023 season when Red Bull went on to dominate in a way that’s never been seen before in Formula 1, said to Autosport: “[The car] being really overweight created an understeering balance and once we started to get rid of that, it started to be more agile again.

“Not just twitchy but more agile. You could really use the front end. At the end of the day, that’s also how you really drive a fast car. A car cannot be fast with understeer. It’s impossible.

“Especially with the tyres we had this year being a bit more understeer-limited as well. You cannot have a car like that.”

Verstappen suggesting that a car can’t be fast with understeer appears to be a slight overreaction given how well he performed this season before the update package.

This development will concern McLaren, who have established a huge lead in the constructors’ championship, but know both of their drivers are vulnerable to the Dutchman in the individual standings.

If Verstappen has taken a significant step forward, then a fifth consecutive title might be on the cards once again.