Max Verstappen was coy on the reasons behind Red Bull’s resurgent form in Formula 1 in 2025, but said “a different philosophy” has been part of it.
The Dutchman has excelled since F1 returned from its summer break in Zandvoort, taking second place at his home Grand Prix, but still what appeared to be a country mile behind McLaren. However, further progress to come.
Next time out at Monza, Verstappen’s RB21 was so fast that it managed to set the fastest average F1 lap of all time in qualifying, and followed it up on race day by winning the fastest Grand Prix ever.
It got better still in Baku, with a dominant display that even got tongues wagging about Verstappen even being able to mount a late title challenge on the McLaren drivers.
And whilst he had no answer for George Russell in Singapore, the Milton Keynes-based squad has certainly been able to elevate itself back towards or at the front of the pack.
The RB21 has largely been a car that performs positively on low-downforce circuits, a contrast to the Marina Bay Circuit, proving that the car is reaching new heights on high-downforce ones.
Asked how well he thought the car had performed given its unfriendly characteristics to the RB21, Verstappen was bordering on incredulous amid his happiness at his second place.
“It worked out pretty well,” he said. “If you’d told me before the weekend that things would go like this, I would’ve signed for it right away.
“This has always been a track that’s been really tough for us. The fact that we were seriously fighting for pole position is already a very good sign.”
Verstappen admitted that this turnaround for the team would have been something of fantasy at Zandvoort.
“Nobody expected this to be honest. But of course, there are reasons why things are suddenly working better now,” he said, before adding with a coy smile, “I just can’t say what those reasons are.
Verstappen added: “Well, everything helps, of course, but that’s not the full reason.” And when asked what the most important factor has been, he replied: “A different philosophy.”
It’s been largely considered that Red Bull has been able to gradually work on its car across a race weekend rather than pivot from one set-up that helps one-lap pace to a contrasting one that conserve its chances in the race.
“That’s correct,” Verstappen revealed. “Now we can fine-tune the car more throughout the weekend, and that’s the most important thing.”
Verstappen: Red Bull still require ‘optimal setup’ to challenge
Verstappen’s next revelation will be one that will frustrate his fans, as he confirmed that the RB21 was perhaps not quite as comparatively poor a car as initially thought earlier in the season.
“That’s pretty clear, yes,” he said. “But there’s nothing we can do about that now.”
“At the start of the season, for sure – absolutely,” he added, in reference to the car being hypothetically being able to finish higher in races earlier in the season, had it had the benefit of the knowledge it has now.
But Verstappen did exercise caution when asked if Singapore is now proof that the RB21 can compete on pretty much any circuit, explaining: “You still have to find the optimal setup every weekend.
“The gaps are so small now that a tiny mistake in set-up or something else can have big consequences. We have to look into that carefully every single weekend.”
But in summary, Verstappen indicated that he has found some sense of happiness when it comes to how much easier it now is to ensure the best of the car can now be extracted.
“That’s definitely the most encouraging thing, yes.”
READ MORE – Yuki Tsunoda reveals positive to point-less F1 Singapore GP amid Red Bull seat uncertainty
Discussion about this post