In the last few years, Red Bull has been the synonym of domination. With the strong presence of Max Verstappen, culminating in the 2023 season with all victories expect one round, the Austrian team seemed unstoppable, but is that the truth? Or has Red Bull stopped and is now trying to save what is saveable?
A history of success and strength, as we have seen during the domination of Sebastian Vettel in the late 2010s, an era where the bull was a symbol of speed on the track and combativeness, a symbol later taken again by the Lion Max Verstappen with an incredible dominating season. But not everything lasts forever and difficulties might rise from their ashes…
The start of the end?
It all started when, last year, the accusation about Christian Horner left a mark in the paddock, the team, and of course the fanbase. The credibility of the team principal had become questionable after a rumor – which later became news – and the inquiry still today isn’t fully closed considering that the Red Bull employee, who was in the middle of the scandal, will try to start independent legal action against the British leader.
After a short amount of time, Adrian Newey decided to leave but he couldn’t reveal immediately which team had offered him a new job in Formula One; with his acknowledgment of aerodynamics Red Bull had become the quickest car on the F1 grid, which later became slower in comparison to others, while McLaren was slowly weaving its web to win the Constructors title in 2024. But, Adrian Newey was not the only one to leave the racing team.
Another goodbye and a new face...
Also, Red Bull sporting director Jonathan Wheatley has left the Austrian group, and from this April we will see him dressed in green as the new team principal of Sauber, before the new rebranding as Audi. What was unstoppable seems currently more vulnerable, increasing the pressure second after second, while Liam Lawson will debut tomorrow with his first qualifying.
The driver from New Zealand didn’t have his best start this weekend: Lawson in FP2 was 17th, not showing a good performance in comparison with the Dutch driver Max Verstappen. Lawson was a bet, he was promoted without a full year in Racing Bulls after Sergio Perez left Red Bull.
The last season ended up with a win for Max Verstappen but with an intense fight against the more rapid Lando Norris, who won his first Grand Prix during the 2024 season in Miami, later starting to intimidate the Champion. Verstappen secured his 4th title but not as easily as he did in 2023, he struggled and this year the difficulty might be even greater with many further opponents on the track.
The struggles during the first practices
And then a 7th place in the last free practice, making us question if Red Bull is ready to fight back for the World Constructors’ Championship after their last year, when they started as 1st team and ended up 3rd, behind Scuderia Ferrari and the winner McLaren.
With increasing competition, as we have seen with Carlos Sainz and his new Williams with a 2nd place finish during the FP1, Red Bull might have even more obstacles to overcome, not only the fact that the time may need some time to asset after all the changes in this whole year. Max Verstappen had already told ViaPlay: “l’ve also spent a lot of time in the simulator… I don’t think we can compete for victory in Melbourne, but hopefully, we will be able to make improvements within a few races.” He didn’t have much hope in the car at the current state.
Now the question is: will Max Verstappen manage to secure his 5th Championship or this is the end of the dominance of the record breaker? Is Red Bull going to overcome the complications of this year or will they become again a midfield team?
Lights up, only the next race will give us our explanations.
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