Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko is hopeful the team has resolved the issues it endured last season based on the initial run with its 2025 Formula 1 car in pre-season testing.
The RB20 began the previous campaign as the benchmark package until an incorrect development path induced severe balance woes that curtailed the team’s dominance.
Max Verstappen retained the Drivers’ title, but Red Bull is aware that addressing the problems that blighted the squad in 2024 is imperative to accomplishing more success.
The Austrian squad provided a surprise when the RB21 was unveiled, though, as the team’s newest challenger bears a strong resemblance to its capricious predecessor.
However, Red Bull boss Christian Horner teased that the “devil is in the detail” as he divulged that most areas on the car had been changed beneath the visible surfaces.
Marko has revealed that Red Bull’s subtle revisions have delivered on its target to provide the drivers with a more benign car based on the RB21’s debut pre-season laps.
“The long runs were really competitive, or the fastest,” Marko told Motorsport.com. “The car is more predictable and reacts to changes in a normal way.
“So, all the problems we had last year, I think have improved or maybe have been solved.
“Now it has a greater operating range and is more predictable for the drivers.
“The feedback from Max is positive. The car feels better now and when you make changes the car reacts as expected.
“On his fast lap Max could have done better, but that doesn’t matter. The long runs were very good, impressive.”
Verstappen had ‘only good surprises’ with the RB21
Having ended the opening day third on the timesheets, Verstappen expressed that he was pleased with how the RB21 had been responding to his steering inputs.
“In terms of driving, everything felt good,” Verstappen reflected.
“Only good surprises, so that’s positive. We don’t know yet where we are in terms of pace, but everything is working well and the car is doing what I want.
“We have everything under control and that’s all we can hope for at the start of my test.”
The Dutchman stressed that his remaining time in the car in the sole pre-season test will be about exploring its operating window and not pursuing ultimate lap time.
“We are constantly learning and trying different things,” he added. “We will continue to do that.
“It’s not about driving the perfect lap, it’s about working on our test programme and learning in which direction we need to develop the car to get it under control.”
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