Latest news with #RB-21
Newsweek
02-06-2025
- Automotive
- Newsweek
Max Verstappen Makes Shocking Statement After George Russell Clash at the Spanish GP
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Red Bull driver Max Verstappen issued a shocking statement after his controversial collision with Mercedes' George Russell during the Spanish Grand Prix. Verstappen crashed into Russell after his frustration boiled over regarding his race. Many Formula 1 fans and pundits criticized Verstappen's sportsmanship and race etiquette for lashing out at Russell. Max Verstappen of Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing answers questions in the media pen during the F1 Grand Prix of Spain at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on June 1, 2025 in Barcelona, Spain Max Verstappen of Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing answers questions in the media pen during the F1 Grand Prix of Spain at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on June 1, 2025 in Barcelona, Spain Photo by/Getty On Monday, a day after the race, the Dutch made a statement after reflecting on what had happened. "We had an exciting strategy and good race in Barcelona, till the safety car came out," Verstappen wrote on Instagram. "Our tyre choice to the end and some moves after the safety car restart fuelled my frustration, leading to a move that was not right and shouldn't have happened. "I always give everything out there for the team and emotions can run high. You win some together, you lose some together. See you in Montreal." The post featured a rare apology from Verstappen, who has been hesitant to apologize for any on-track incidents. His demeanor has typically been nonchalant about collisions that he caused or moments when he lost his cool, chalking it up to his competitiveness. This time, Verstappen accepted responsibility for his actions and condemned his behavior. His frustration with how the race developed is understandable, given all that went wrong for him. During the safety car, all of the teams and cars made a pit stop to get a fresh pair of tires because the track in Barcelona was chewing the cars' tires. Verstappen, however, had already done three pit stops and did not have a soft tire left. Instead, he had a fresh, hard tire remaining, and the team opted to have him come in and get on the fresh tire. Once the safety car ended, Verstappen was essentially a sitting duck, immediately losing the rear of the RB-21 and just managing to keep it on the track. A dramatic restart! 😱 This was a heart-in-mouth moment between Verstappen and Leclerc 👀#F1 #SpanishGP — Formula 1 (@F1) June 1, 2025 Charles Leclerc, in the Ferrari, was behind Verstappen on the soft tire, quickly getting past the Red Bull. There was some contact during the overtake, though it was Verstappen who went into the Ferrari. The Dutch driver was irritated on the radio, demanding to have the position, though no such order ever came from the FIA. Then, to add fuel to the fire, Russell attempted an overtake on the vulnerable Verstappen, but there was contact and the Red Bull driver went off the track, though he stayed ahead of Russell. Red Bull ordered Verstappen to give up the place, though, as he looked like he was giving up the position, he ended up hitting Russell before letting him through further down the track. Verstappen was given a 10-second time penalty for the collision, resulting in him finishing P10. Drama in the closing stages of the race! 😱 Max Verstappen drops to P10 following a 10-second penalty for causing a collision with George Russell #F1 #SpanishGP — Formula 1 (@F1) June 1, 2025 Verstappen will have a couple of weeks until he gets back on track, which should be used to reset his state of mind for the remainder of the season. In the future, he will need to avoid these incidents when possible, given that he could get a race ban if he gets more penalty points. More F1: Max Verstappen Awarded FIA Platinum License for Endurance Racing For more F1, head on over to Newsweek Sports.
Forbes
14-04-2025
- Automotive
- Forbes
Why Red Bull Has ‘Great Concern' Over Max Verstappen's Future
Red Bull has 'great concern' over Max Verstappen's future after a difficult start to the season reignited speculations he may leave the team. The Dutchman has won four world title in a row with Red Bull and is eight points behind championship leader Lando Norris after finishing sixth in the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday. Verstappen won from pole-position in Suzuka the previous week, but McLaren has so far won three of the opening four races of the season. Norris took the chequered flag in Australia, with teammate Oscar Piastri triumphing in China and Bahrain. Verstappen, meanwhile, finished second in Melbourne on the opening weekend and took third in the sprint race in Shanghai. After four races, the reigning world champion accounts for all but two of Red Bull's 71 points, with Yuki Tsunoda, who replaced Liam Lawson after the Chinese Grand Prix, scoring the other two on Sunday. Red Bull finished last season way off the pace behind McLaren and Mercedes, but has been the second-fastest car behind the Papaya through four races. Despite the improvements, however, the car remains on average over all qualifying sessions this year 0.214 seconds a lap slower than its direct rivals. And Red Bull chief advisor Helmut Marko conceded the gap with the McLaren could have a seismic impact over Verstappen's future. 'The concern is great,' he told Sky Germany on Sunday. "Improvements have to come in the near future so that he has a car with which he can win again. "We have to create a basis with a car so that he can fight for the world championship." Red Bull remain plagued by the same balance problems that surfaced mid-season last year, which make the car difficult to driver on corner entry and prone to mid-corner understeer. Verstappen has complained about the balance issues afflicting his RB-21 throughout the first four weekends of the season and the problem was exacerbated by tyre degradation in Bahrain. With life running out of his tyres faster than expected and a lot faster than last year, Verstappen could not keep up with his rivals at the front. 'The big problem is the pace that we have,' the Dutchman said in Sakhir. 'I just feel like we are even worse on tyres somehow this year. Basically just very complicated." It is a major concern for Red Bull, who spent half of last season struggling to address balance issues. Having won seven of the opening 10 races, Verstappen went winless for three months with a car he described as 'impossible to drive' and only his supreme driving ability allowed him to fend off Norris' title bid. Verstappen's tally of nine wins last year was the smallest since he won 10 races in 2021, when he clinched his first world title in controversial circumstances on the final lap of the final race of the season. The Dutchman won 15 times in 2022 and a record breaking 19 times the following season. 'We've been struggling with two issues this weekend, one a braking issue, and secondly, just an imbalance,' Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner conceded after the race. "When you have that then tyre deg, everything looks worse. On top of that, we've had a horrible day where we had what looks like a wiring loom issue in the pit gantry.' Marko's admission over Verstappen's future will almost inevitably lead to speculations over the four-time world champion's future. The Dutchman is under contract with Red Bull for another three years and while the details of the deal have not been made public, it is understood to contain a clause that could allow him to walk away before 2028. In September last year, Horner told the media Red Bull's agreement with Verstappen included a 'performance element' that could allow the 27-year-old an early exit. Earlier this month, Marko also noted Verstappen's contract included performance clauses that would allow him to leave the team. "We have this huge motivation to achieve this fifth title," the 81-year-old told BBC Sport. 'We also know that if we don't deliver for Max, all the top drivers have performance clauses in their contract.' Mercedes more or less overtly flirted with Verstappen throughout last season and team principal Toto Wolff met with Verstappen's father, Jos, and the driver's manager Raymond Vermeulen in the summer. In January, however, Wolff poured cold waters on the rumours, suggesting 'there was never a plan' for Mercedes to sign Verstappen. But in an episode of Drive to Survive, the Silver Arrows boss offered a rather different take, revealing he never spoke to Verstappen because of a promise he made to Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton. Crucially, however, Wolff hinted the prospect of luring the Dutchman away from Red Bull remains a possibility. 'I haven't talked to him because I promised Lewis not to talk to him,' he said in the show. 'But I will have the conversation now.' That conversation may happen sooner rather than later if Red Bull can't deliver a winning car.
The National
07-04-2025
- Automotive
- The National
F1 Japanese Grand Prix: Verstappen's masterclass, Hadjar's promise and a tough start for Tsunoda
Japan's Suzuka might be one of the world's most famous tracks but it disappointed in the entertainment stakes on Sunday, with the top six on the grid finishing as they had started. The difficulty in overtaking led to a dull race – but not one without consequence – as we learnt more about the drivers, teams and cars, with the 2025 season beginning to take shape. Here are the main talking points from the weekend. Sport has the capacity to take your breath away and Max Verstappen's drive in qualifying to secure pole position was truly something special. He has his critics, but Verstappen clinched pole and converted that to first place in the race on Sunday much to the delight of Red Bull. 'I think there is no other driver at the moment that can drive a car and put it so high, or higher than the car deserves,' said veteran Fernando Alonso of Verstappen. 'I think it was a magical moment for everyone here.' When one of the greatest drivers on the grid speaks so highly of a colleague, then people should listen. This RB-21 is by no means perfect. Red Bull have struggled to find the right second driver because the car is reportedly hard to drive. It is said to be designed with Verstappen's preferences in mind, and the manner in which he can bend the machinery to his will deserves praise. Having enjoyed one of the best weekends of his career, including one of, if not the best, qualifying drives of his life, Verstappen now sits just one point behind Lando Norris in the drivers' championship. He not only managed his tyres to perfection but skilfully batted his challengers away, beating Norris by 1.4 seconds. The first to win at Suzuka for a fourth time in a row, Verstappen continues to be a driver admired and feared in equal measure. Given the challenges of overtaking at Suzuka, it made qualifying all the more important. With Verstappen managing a perfect qualifier, the McLarens started behind his Red Bull on the grid. Despite only narrowly losing out on Sunday, Norris, who finished in second, never managed to get within DRS range to apply pressure to the Red Bull. Considering the speed of their car, McLaren's strategy was questioned. Andrea Stella, the team principal, gave his reasons as to why they didn't attempt an undercut or leave Norris out for longer to have fresher tyres for the latter part of the race. They decided upon their strategy and accepted the outcome due to the difficulty in overtaking. However, you cannot help but wonder if they missed a trick and the opportunity to claim three wins in a row. 'The race was won yesterday [in qualifying] in hindsight, and I guess we always kind of know the better position you start, the more chance you have of winning,' said Norris. Isack Hadjar served notice of his ability as he finished eighth to secure four points for his team and his first points of the season. When Lewis Hamilton's father, Anthony, referred to Hadjar in glowing terms despite him spinning out of his first race in Australia, you could have been forgiven for thinking Hamilton Senior was exaggerating the French-Algerian's skill. 'I think he's a phenomenal driver, I really do. There's more to come from Isack than we probably have seen this weekend,' said Hamilton after the opening round of the season. Hadjar is slowly proving that he is on to something. Despite struggling with his seat belt in qualifying, leaving him frustrated, he still managed to claim P7 ahead of Lewis Hamilton in his Ferrari. On Sunday he extracted as much as possible from his car to finish in P8, this time just behind Hamilton. His performances have been steadily improving and his display in Suzuka has already sparked debate as to whether he deserves the second seat at Red Bull. Would anyone really put it past Christian Horner to pull off another swap? Considering the difficulties that Red Bull's second drivers have faced, asking Yuki Tsunoda to get close to his teammate Verstappen was always going to be a tall order. The Japanese driver, who replaced Liam Lawson after just two races, was hoping to finish in the points in his home race but only managed P12, improving on his P14 start by two positions. It's a little distasteful how many pundits and critics are already speculating when Tsunoda will be sacked, such is the ruthless nature of this team, and the pressure applied on the drivers. However, despite Tsunoda making a mistake in qualifying – leading to his Q2 elimination on his final hot lap – he displayed enough pace to keep everyone believing in his potential. 'It was pretty frustrating, but at the same time, I feel like I've learnt a lot of things in the 53 laps,' said Tsunoda. 'I learnt more than anything, so I'm positive about that. I'm excited for the next one but, at the same time, [this was] a home Grand Prix. It's once in a year, so it was a bit tough.' The Bahrain race next week should tell us more about how Tsunoda will settle into one of the toughest seats on the grid.
