{"id":32474,"date":"2025-04-06T07:06:08","date_gmt":"2025-04-06T11:06:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/?p=32474"},"modified":"2025-04-06T07:18:53","modified_gmt":"2025-04-06T11:18:53","slug":"red-bull-verstappen-sense-mclaren-weakness-upgrades-arriving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/04\/06\/red-bull-verstappen-sense-mclaren-weakness-upgrades-arriving\/","title":{"rendered":"Red Bull, Verstappen sense McLaren weakness &#8211; upgrades arriving"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/03\/14\/max-verstappen-does-not-expect-red-bull-to-fight-for-wins\/\" target=\"_self\">Max Verstappen<\/a> secured his first victory of 2025 in Suzuka, defying the odds to fend off Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. After a stunning qualifying, the Dutchman once again demonstrated his calibre.<\/p>\n<p>The 4-time Champion made the difference once again, dragging the RB21 to the top step of the podium.<\/p>\n<p>Putting aside Verstappen&#8217;s brilliance, there are encouraging signs for Red Bull&#8217;s performance &#8211; on both sides of the garage.<\/p>\n<p>Moving forward in 2025, the Milton Keynes squad will develop aggressively.<\/p>\n<h2>Why Red Bull can build on Verstappen&#8217;s Japan win<\/h2>\n<p>After Friday Practice, every indication suggested that McLaren were poised for another 1-2 finish in Japan.<\/p>\n<p>Verstappen was unhappy with the RB21&#8217;s set-up, whilst the MCL39 was superior in all aspects.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/04\/04\/mercedes-chase-mclaren-as-red-bull-face-oversteer-and-oversteer\/\" target=\"_self\">Even the Mercedes W16<\/a> looked more competitive, especially in the hands of George Russell.<\/p>\n<p>However, Red Bull&#8217;s trackside team managed to unlock significant performance in FP3 after making changes to set-up.<\/p>\n<p>To be clear, these alterations did not make the RB21 faster overall than the McLaren.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, it put the Milton Keynes machine within touching distance of the MCL39 &#8211; Verstappen did the rest.<\/p>\n<p>Still, assuming that Red Bull can stay within a few tenths of the papaya team, they can plausibly continue to snatch victories.<\/p>\n<p>In the right operating window, the RB21 is slightly more stable &#8211; and also looks after it&#8217;s tyres very well.<\/p>\n<p>On the opposite side of the garage, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/04\/04\/tsunoda-rb21-more-different-than-expected-to-the-simulator\/\" target=\"_self\">Yuki Tsunoda&#8217;s result<\/a> on Sunday was limited by his starting position.<\/p>\n<p>Despite this, the Japanese driver&#8217;s pace is clearly a step forward on his predecessor &#8211; Liam Lawson.<\/p>\n<p>Q3 and points were definitely possible with a cleanly executed weekend, something team principal <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/04\/05\/christian-horner-comes-to-tsunodas-defence-post-qualifying\/\" target=\"_self\">Christian Horner has stressed<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The Red Bull team principal has also emphasised the precision of Tsunoda&#8217;s feedback &#8211; confirming the 24-year-old&#8217;s reputation for being strong technically.<\/p>\n<p>With his first weekend in the RB21 under his belt (and a track more conducive to overtaking in Bahrain up next) points should be on the cars for the #22 car.<\/p>\n<p>There is also the prospect of McLaren being impacted by <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/03\/17\/fia-announce-new-technical-directive-which-teams-will-benefit\/\" target=\"_self\">further FIA clampdowns on flexi-wings<\/a> later in the year.<\/p>\n<p>Even if just affected by a tenth or two, the papaya team could fall back further into striking range.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"BU7Tvb7aROF7U1gg1nAFkA\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/2208610575\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'BU7Tvb7aROF7U1gg1nAFkA',sig:'vgRdeCM7QwysyCWx1xTgGuVxeD8tTAgw7-oauaICVE0=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'2208610575',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<h4>A bold upgrade plan for 2025<\/h4>\n<p>In any case, Red Bull are aware that another step forward is necessary to win races more consistently.<\/p>\n<p>Thankfully for Verstappen, the Austrian outfit are happy to commit significant resources to the 2025 season.<\/p>\n<p>Christian Horner has already ruled out the possibility of Red Bull abandoning this year for the upcoming regulation cycle.<\/p>\n<p>Realistically, fighting for wins in 2026 with their own power units is unlikely.<\/p>\n<p>Catching up to established manufacturers like Mercedes and Honda (<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/03\/13\/aston-martin-newey-focusing-entirely-on-2026-car\/\" target=\"_self\">who will power Aston Martin<\/a>) will take time.<\/p>\n<p>Therefore, Red Bull understand this year could be their best chance at a title for a the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n<p>Even before Verstappen&#8217;s Red Bull heroics, upgrades have been planned for the triple header.<\/p>\n<p>With the team&#8217;s first win of 2025 secured, the team has more reason to believe that &#8211; assuming they can take a step forward &#8211; Verstappen can defend his crown.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/04\/02\/helmut-marko-claims-newey-objected-to-promoting-tsunoda\/\" target=\"_self\">Helmut Marko<\/a> has already spoken of encouraging data from the wind tunnel. This has formed the foundation of the upgrades that will arrive to the RB21 in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n<p>It is beyond this period, however, when the summer break comes closer that Red Bull can double down.<\/p>\n<p>The likes of McLaren and Mercedes are likely to be more torn between 2025 and transitioning to 2026 development.<\/p>\n<p>Such a dilemma does not exist at Milton Keynes, who are quietly confident they can establish a baseline to build upon.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, there are still weaknesses present &#8211; such as <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/04\/03\/tsunoda-already-experimenting-with-rb21-set-up-ahead-of-japan\/\" target=\"_self\">the team&#8217;s tendency to start weekends with poor initial set-ups<\/a>, a by-product of discrepancies between the simulator and the track.<\/p>\n<p>Regardless, especially with a more competitive driver alongside Verstappen, Red Bull are confident of improving.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"BiDF5BpXRQJgFKRUh10Kjw\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/2208778578\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'BiDF5BpXRQJgFKRUh10Kjw',sig:'-Q4tawRwVa_1uvf8zXhvWAtVykpA9xQQ5pbksJ99YH4=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'2208778578',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<h4>McLaren&#8217;s face a familiar problem<\/h4>\n<p>Meanwhile, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/04\/03\/norris-mclaren-only-team-with-two-good-drivers-at-the-minute\/\" target=\"_self\">the predicament McLaren must overcome<\/a> is similar to last season.<\/p>\n<p>Their car is undoubtedly the fastest on the grid, both in qualifying and race trim.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately for the papaya team, there is a gap between Verstappen&#8217;s calibre and their own driver duo.<\/p>\n<p>To some extent, the team already knew this after last season.<\/p>\n<p>This is why <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/01\/01\/mclaren-reveal-brave-risk-with-2025-car\/\" target=\"_self\">team principal Andrea Stella spoke of such aggressive development over the winter<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>McLaren&#8217;s objective was to create a big enough cushion for their drivers to fend off the seemingly inevitable Max Verstappen.<\/p>\n<p>At least so far, their impressive progress with the MCL39 may not be enough.<\/p>\n<p>With Red Bull committed to developing deep into 2025, McLaren are also at risk of having to take resources way from &#8217;26.<\/p>\n<p>All in all, the British team have a familiar problem &#8211; a Verstappen problem.<\/p>\n<p>The Dutchman has dragged himself back to the front despite Red Bull being relatively stagnant since last year&#8217;s Japan upgrades.<\/p>\n<p>Assuming the factory in Milton Keynes can find more performance, things could become even more complicated for McLaren.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Max Verstappen secured his first victory of 2025 in Suzuka, defying the odds to fend off Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. After a stunning qualifying, the Dutchman once again demonstrated his calibre. The 4-time Champion made the difference once again, dragging the RB21 to the top step of the podium. Putting aside Verstappen&#8217;s brilliance, there [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4927,"featured_media":32475,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[2452,79,66,78],"class_list":["post-32474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-formula-1","category-news","tag-f1-2025-season","tag-max-verstappen","tag-mclaren","tag-red-bull-racing"],"modified_by":"Jaden Diaz-Ndisang","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32474","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4927"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32474"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32474\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32479,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32474\/revisions\/32479"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}