The first test drives of the 2025 Formula 1 season run in Bahrain, and for Red Bull there is one question above all: Did the team remove the handling weaknesses of the RB20?
Max Verstappen gave a cautious assessment in the new RB21 after his first half day – and sounds optimistic.
“I had fun driving,” he admits after third place on Wednesday. “To be honest, the car was pretty decent,” said the four -time world champion after his first stint on the Bahrain International Circuit. “It’s always difficult to say when it comes to pace, but I had fun and I think that’s the most important thing.”
The RB20 was not the car that would have wished for Verstappen, especially in the second half of 2024. Problems with handling made the coordination difficult and ensured that Verstappen often had to fight with a restless rear. In Bahrain, the problem was not so striking a year ago, but it got worse and worse during the season.
This time Red Bull seems to have pulled the right teachings. “I think the team has learned a lot from last year. Now we just try to implement it and see how things are going in Australia. This is a completely different route, but so far it is fun,” says Verstappen.
“Can’t be worse than last year”
According to the Dutch, it is still difficult to assess whether the RB21 has taken a real step forward when it comes to balance. Nevertheless, one direction can already be seen: “Well, it cannot be worse than last year. I think the direction we work in is good. Now we just have to see how much we can get out of the car.”
It is still early in the season preparation, but Verstappen already has a much better feeling than a year ago: “Yesterday I enjoyed it, and that alone is a big difference to last year.”
One of the largest weaknesses in the RB20 was its unpredictability, especially in quick changes of direction and when changing loads in the middle of the corner. Verstappen confirms that the new car has made progress here: “It improved everywhere compared to last year. I don’t want to go into too much detail, we keep that for ourselves. But yes, I have had a positive feeling so far.”
Verstappen does not dare for the forecast yet
“Some cars don’t need much influence, and you just continue to work. But at some point last year we knew that something was wrong, and then some things had to be adjusted,” he says. “I give my feedback on what I need, what I think the car needs to get faster. And that’s exactly what we try to implement.”
The first impressions of the RB21 make Verstappen look optimistic about the season, but he is holding back with a final assessment. “It is still very early, we are still discussing a lot and want to improve a lot. But the first impression is positive.”
Whether the RB21 will actually be the measure of things in Formula 1 is shown at the latest at the start of the season in Melbourne. But one hopes that Red Bull Verstappen put a car this time with which he feels more comfortable than a year ago.