After two wins in a row, Max Verstappen is only 69 points in the Formula 1 driver rating and Red Bull germinates new hope.
But while team advisor Helmut Marko presents himself slightly euphorically, team boss Laurent Mekies dampens the expectations: “We really take it for races – and don’t look at the table stands.”
It is “nice, of course” to be involved in the fight for second place in the design classification, says Mekies. After the best weekend of the year so far, Red Bull opened up with a total of 33 points through Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda to Ferrari and Mercedes. According to Baku, the three teams only separate 18 points.
Nevertheless, Mekies wants to proceed in the further races “step by step” and do not rush anything – especially since it is still open whether the two recent victories are a tangible trend or just route -specific outliers.
“That’s why we see the next race in Singapore in relation to the deficit to anyone. Singapore will be a different challenge. For us, we are concerned with the questions of what we have learned how we can apply these lessons there and how much risk.”
Red Bull relies on risk
But Mekies shows that much: Red Bull will choose a “risky approach” in the remaining races of the 2025 Formula 1 season. The goal is to “learn as much as possible”, and “this has priority over the championship discussion or the like,” emphasizes Mekies.
But it is clear that the recent successes of Verstappen and Tsunoda also make it easier for Red Bull to pursue a somewhat riskier strategy. “With growing self -confidence, you try more and can therefore unlock more laps,” explains Mekies.
Will McLaren get nervous?
This could also have a signal effect. In any case, Marko recognizes the increased pressure by Red Bull in the numerous incidents of the McLaren drivers in Baku and says: “We have to be as close as possible to make them nervous.”
But team boss Mekies does not want to go: “To be honest, I don’t know if that has an impact on McLaren. This is probably not our topic. We want to see progress in the car. And if that works, it is good against McLaren, good against Mercedes and good against Ferrari.”
The latest improvements are particularly good for Verstappen and Tsunoda. The latter achieved his best season result in Baku and thus confirmed an upward trend that Marko attested to him in the recent weeks. And that on a racetrack with other characteristics than in Monza. “So that’s good news,” says Mekies.
Singapore as a indicator for the Red Bull upswing
Singapore therefore becomes the crucial yardstick: “Although it is about slow curves, but also about maximum output. We suffered quite a bit in Budapest and in front of it. In addition, the whole field suffers from the high temperatures and Singapore has been a difficult route for us for years.”
On Singapore, Austin and Mexico follow – two courses with medium -fast curves, of which Mekies warns: “We were really destroyed a few races in Zandvoort von McLaren. The deficit was very great. And although we won the sprint in Spa, we had the impression that we were about half a second behind.”
That is why Red Bull in Singapore is looking for answers: whether the Red Bull RB21 can really record everywhere with McLaren and Co. in the rest of the season.
McLar weakness prevents real performance comparison
However, the recent successes are not due to a single update, says Mekies: “There is not this a miracle weapon that depends on everything. It is a combination of many small details that have brought more performance out of the car. But we don’t yet know how big this competitive advantage is under different conditions.”
In Baku it was at most “a few tenths of a second” on George Russell in Mercedes, says Mekies. “There is no reason to refuse.” Especially since the true McLaren performance did not become clear because Oscar Piatri had already left round one and Lando Norris was constantly on traffic. “We never saw the real pace.”
Red Bull is not a favorite in Singapore – or?
That is why Mekies shows the favorite role for Singapore. He traveled to Singapore with “more confidence” than to Budapest. “But whether it is enough to fight for victory? To be honest, impossible to say. That is the answer we will search there,” explains the Red Bull team boss.
He adds: “We have no reason to believe that it is not enough – and it will certainly not be as bad as Budapest.”