Max Verstappen and Red Bull were eager to assess their winter progress in Bahrain Testing. The RB21 has been designed to compensate for Red Bull’s shortcomings last season.
There were certainly some positives for the Milton Keynes squad, who believe the RB21 mitigates some of it’s predecessors weaknesses.
However, there are concerns that Red Bull’s progress is insufficient. The team are unhappy with some aspects of their 2025 challenger, in terms of drivability.
Red Bull not fully satisfied with first indications of 2025
For several years now, Verstappen has started the year as the favourite to win the Championship. To some degree, the Dutchman’s four successive titles mean this is still the case in 2025.
Still, for the first time in almost half a decade, there are serious doubts if Red Bull will provide him the machinery he requires.
Not only did McLaren and Ferrari finish last season ahead of Red Bull in the standings, but their development trajectories were fare more positive.
This is especially true for McLaren, whose MCL39 looked ominous in pre-season testing. Both in low and high-fuel running, the Woking-based squad performed at a very high level.
Aware of the threat posed by Andrea Stella’s team, Red Bull knew the importance of a successful winter.
As it stands, the Austrian outfit are a few steps behind the reigning constructors Champions:
“It was not as smooth a test as we expected and the team expected,” explained Red Bull Technical Director Pierre Wache.
“But it is better to find some problems here than later down the line and it is why we are here, to understand the car.
“The weather was not with us and not very representative of this track.”
RB21 is not yet firing on all cylinders
Variable track conditions were certainly threw a spanner in the works during the Bahrain tests.
At a circuit with typically predicably conditions, changes in track temperature, wind – and even spells of rain – made life difficult for teams in pre-season.
This did not seem to bother McLaren, though, who ran a very targeted programme. Their running plan indicated supreme confidence in the MCL39 and it’s correlation with the data from the factory.
Meanwhile, Red Bull’s tests – while productive – were slightly more troubled:
“But we tried to explore the potential of the car,” Wache continued. “And tried to understand how it responds to different set-ups.
“And I think we more or less achieved that.
“I am not as happy as I could be, because the car did not respond how we wanted at times, but it is going in the right direction.
“Just maybe the magnitude of the direction was not as big as we expected, and it’s something we need to work on for the first race and future development.”
Because of the looming 2026 regulations, Red Bull’s resources will be very limited in terms of mid-season development.
If McLaren, Ferrari or Mercedes begin the year with a major advantage, recovery will be difficult.
Moreover, team principal Christian Horner has indicated that the FIA’s new flexi-wing measures could undo some of their work for 2025.
