Max Verstappen will be looking to secure a fifth consecutive world drivers' championship in 2025 with Red Bull.
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After the RB20 experienced handling difficulties last season, Red Bull are hoping the new and "improved" RB21 can help driver Max Verstappen claim his fifth consecutive world drivers' championship.
Verstappen previously voiced his frustration at times with the car in 2024, revealing that the RB20 is, “just not a connected balance, front to rear."
His teammate at the time, Sergio Perez, toiled away fruitless in the package, eventually finishing eighth in the drivers' championship, his contract terminated by the team afterwards. Nevertheless, and despite the difficulties of their car, 27-year-old Verstappen lifted his fourth consecutive title last year in the RB20.
Red Bull’s technical director Pierre Wache said on Wednesday that the car has undergone a complete reevaluation since, with many significant changes, as reported by a leading F1 news platform.
“We modified most of the stuff that is maybe not as visible as the older car. The concepts, overall, stay the same but plenty of stuff has changed underneath and inside the car that, in terms of cooling, suspension, aero package. Everything has changed to achieve the characteristics we like,” Wache said.
Wache also revealed the RB20 was “very, very peaky” with potential that was difficult to extract, which sometimes put the driver in an uncomfortable position at slow corners.
“Last year, we had a quite difficult car and, to rebalance it, it would put you in a corner in terms of what you could do (setup-wise).
“Now it is giving us a wider range of setups that we have to explore. And it will take time to see what the best compromise is, and the compromise could be quite different from track to track, because it gives us a lot more freedom.”
In the recent pre-season practice in Bahrain, however, Red Bull underwhelmed, with the car lacking pace and precision.
Meanwhile, team principal Christian Horner marks his 20th year at the helm of Red Bull and will also be looking for another constructors' championship in 2025.
The highly decorated Horner has led Red Bull since the start of the racing team, with no indication of retiring from the sport anytime soon, despite recent controversy regarding improper conduct relating to an employee, and inter-team turmoil and dissatisfaction with the team's management.
Horner has overseen Red Bull through 113 GP wins and taken 95 pole positions. He also oversaw Sebastian Vettel’s complete domination during a period from 2010 to 2013. Coupled with the recent success with Verstappen, Horner and Co have collected six constructors' championship.
Verstappen, meanwhile, will look to claim another drivers' title in 2025, and if he does so, will equal the legendary Michael Schumacher’s record of five straight championships. He will also join Juan Manuel Fangio with five championship, with only Lewis Hamilton and Schumacher scoring more (seven each).
There is just under two weeks left before lights out at the season-opening Australian GP in Melbourne, with McLaren early favourites to dominate that event.