Max Verstappen has shared his thoughts on Red Bull’s car for the upcoming season. Here are Verstappen’s statements about the RB21, with a jab at his rivals
It’s a critical and cautious Max Verstappen we see at the end of the season The Dutchman, who secured his fourth career world title in 2024, already has a clear vision for the next season. Reflecting on this past year, both Verstappen and Red Bull know that such glaring errors in car development cannot be repeated for 2025. Nor can they afford a car that starts the season strong only to underperform later. The 2025 season will mark significant changes within Red Bull: Sergio Perez has been let go after another forgettable season, with Liam Lawson stepping in after a strong late-year showing with Visa Cash App RB.
Despite a car that was far from thrilling and tough to drive at times during the 2024 season, Max dominated the championship, defeating Lando Norris, who for much of the season had the best car on the grid. (Click here to find out how much Max earned in 2024.) Reflecting on the Red Bull’s 2024 performance, Max said: “Of course, I’m happy, even though it was a different car compared to last year.”
He then turned cautious about 2025:If we continue like this, I won’t be champion next year—it’s that simple. We really need to take action to be competitive next season. Everyone knows this, and I trust the team will address the balance issues from last year. Some things we couldn’t fix in 2024 will be changed for the next car. We know we need to improve on curbs, bumps, and slow corners. Those are generally our weaknesses. If we lose again, it will only be due to raw speed.” “
A jab at rival teams: “I know everything, but they’ll never admit it”
So, what changed for Red Bull during the 2024 season? Verstappen has a clear idea: “ All the plans for new parts after the Monza race could have been thrown in the trash. The team started from scratch after that race. Before then, they couldn’t pinpoint the exact issue. Then I saw a couple of charts when we reviewed the data. I noticed some aerodynamic changes in how we entered corners, turned, and in ride height.”
““I said: ‘Hey, it’s obvious that this is the issue, right?’ I later found out I was right. I had never seen those lines and charts before. Afterward, I made it clear what we needed to focus on, as the engineers obviously know exactly what was changed compared to last year’s car. Early last season, we were still winning convincingly, but I already felt the car’s balance wasn’t what I wanted. At the time, though, we had a significant advantage over other teams, who maybe didn’t have a great winter.”
And on McLaren and Ferrari’s impressive point recovery, Verstappen didn’t hold back: “Things happened behind the scenes that limited our chances in certain races. I know this for a fact, but no one will ever admit it.” A strong, perhaps ironic, message fitting of a champion.
Photo: Max Verstappen, Oracle Red Bull Racing