Red Bull Technical Director Pierre Wache has said Max Verstappen “would not be happy” if the team were to align its Formula 1 car with that of sister team Racing Bulls.
The Milton Keynes-based squad has seen a downturn in competitiveness so far this season, despite Verstappen winning two races.
The RB21 has been noted as a difficult car to drive by Verstappen and virtually all of the leading figures within the team, which is a contrast to its Faenza-based counterparts.
Racing Bulls’ VCARB 02 has been one of the dark horse packages of 2025 so far, helping it to a current Constructors’ Championship position of sixth, with 28 points, the line having been largely led by rookie Isack Hadjar.
Verstappen himself has indirectly acknowledged the car’s performance levels, saying that team-mate Yuki Tsunoda “always looked good compared to Hadjar” before making the switch to the main Red Bull team.
But Wache has intimated it has limitations in comparison to the RB21, and explained that Verstappen would be against the idea of it being made similar.
“We don’t need a copy of the Racing Bulls,” he said. “I’m sure Max would not be happy if we offered him such a car.”
“He is our main asset when it comes to results. We don’t want to make the car easier by reducing its overall potential.”
Wache lacking feedback from Tsunoda amid struggles
Tsunoda’s struggles with the car have also been observed by many, with Red Bull being a team in which you can’t hide if you struggle to perform, particularly in comparison to Verstappen.
The Japanese driver is under pressure to improve his results, but much of the noise coming from Milton Keynes currently is that he will be given the remainder of the campaign to sort this.
Wache hinted that he cannot do his job to the best of his ability, as the Japanese driver’s struggles are rendering him unable to provide sufficient feedback.
“As technical director, I need feedback from both drivers,” he said. “The best would be if they were close together. That is not the case at the moment.”
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