F1 Team Preview: How Max Verstappen Can Match Michael Schumacher's Streak
Max Verstappen claimed a fourth consecutive F1 Drivers' Championship in 2024, but Red Bull Racing relinquished its Constructors' title. Can it challenge for more hardware again in 2025? You bet it can.
Here's a look at Red Bull Racing heading into the 2025 campaign:Lewis Hamilton's departure from Mercedes means Max Verstappen and Red Bull is now the longest current team/driver partnership, with 2025 the tenth season between the parties, and he is contracted through the 2028 season.
Liam Lawson (pictured) has landed the golden ticket at a front-running team after just 11 Grands Prix across two partial seasons with the junior outfit, taking the place of Sergio Perez.Presumably, Racing Bulls driver Yuki Tsunoda would get the call-up if either Verstappen or Lawson were indisposed.Christian Horner (pictured, left) has now been team principal and CEO of Red Bull Racing for a full 20 years, having survived the scandal that rocked the team in early 2024.
Advisor Helmut Marko's power has been reduced in recent years, but he remains a close ally of Verstappen.Red Bull stood down Adrian Newey early last year from direct Formula 1 involvement following confirmation of his departure, and his removal coincided with the team's drop in performance—though a correlation was dismissed by boss Horner.
Newey has since moved on to Aston Martin, and this season's RB21 will be the first car without his direct input. Red Bull is also without long-serving Sporting Director Jonathan Wheatley, who will become Sauber's team principal, and he knew his way in and around a rule book.
Can Red Bull continue to be such sharp shooters without two key pillars of its management structure?The balance issues that Verstappen had complained about even during his dominant spell in 2023 rose to the fore and exposed Red Bull once rivals removed its advantage.
That left Red Bull in a sticky spot as it struggled to remedy the root cause, while troubles riding curbs—and chronic understeer—regularly frustrated Verstappen and compromised overall lap time, with the RB20 operating in a narrow window.
There's also the matter of getting more out of the second car, now occupied by Lawson, but which Perez could not get his head around for so long.Verstappen is the best all-round driver on the grid—his wet-weather win in Brazil was among the finest in history—and he can wring the neck of any car.
If the championship chase is close, expect Verstappen to once more push the boundaries of the regulations and adopt the 'cede or we collide' stance that returned when Lando Norris was a threat last year.
Lawson has limited experience and is a half-rookie so faces a steep learning curve. Going up against current-spec Verstappen is a tall order, though delivering stronger results than predecessor Sergio Perez did for much of last year is a low threshold to pass, and he is a naturally confident driver.Verstappen is Red Bull Racing's primary asset, and the team dare not consider a future without him.
Fortunately for Red Bull, Verstappen has a contract through 2028, but expect other teams—most likely Aston Martin—to test that faith if Red Bull continues to stutter on track.
If Red Bull reclaims the team crown, then Verstappen has little reason to leave, but if they don't, then doubt could begin to creep in.
There's also the looming 2026 regulations, when Red Bull will for the first time compete with its own power units, in association with Ford—so it cannot take its eye off the ball.If Red Bull can cure the balance issues that plagued the RB20, then Verstappen would slot straight in as favorite for a fifth successive world title, a feat only achieved by Michael Schumacher (2000-2004).
As for the Constructors' Championship chase, Getting Lawson up to speed in the first order of business. Avoiding the dips that turned into a terminal slump for Perez would also be a boon and greatly boost the team's prospects of reclaiming the Constructors' crown.
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