Max Verstappen believes that Red Bull is at best the fourth-best team in Formula 1 and suspects that Liam Lawson would do better at the Racing Bulls
Max Verstappen has developed the habit of paying close attention to what he says and how he says it in FIA press conferences and international TV interviews. In smaller groups, when he sits with a few Dutch journalists in the evening, he speaks more openly. And after qualifying for the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix, his analysis was clear.
Verstappen says after P3 in the sprint and P4 in qualifying, phrases like “It’s clear that we’re not in a good position,” “I’m trying to drive around the problems as best I can,” or “The balance is different in every turn than in the one before, and there’s not really much you can do.” The RB21 has “too much understeer” due to its genetic makeup, which is “even more extreme” than in 2024. That doesn’t feel fundamentally uncomfortable when driving: “I can get the maximum out of it. But it’s just too slow.”
Improving the car “will take time,” fears Verstappen, who is in second place in the drivers’ championship after one Grand Prix and one F1 sprint with 24 points. Lando Norris is currently leading the overall standings with 26 points. Two points: a gap that “should actually be bigger,” says Verstappen. It is “obvious” that Red Bull currently has the inferior car.
Turn 14: Piastri passes Verstappen on his second attempt. F1Sprint ChinaGP F12025 F1 Formel1 pic. twitter.com/EF9IGJ7j1J
— Christian Nimmervoll (@MST_ChristianN) March 22, 2025
When asked whether he considers Red Bull to be only number 4 in the Formula 1 pecking order in 2025, behind McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes, he replies, “That’s how it feels to me.” And he lets it be seen between the lines, without saying it explicitly, that in his opinion it is mainly due to the driver that at least one RB21 is always at the front.
Is the VCARB 02 the faster Red Bull car?
Because Red Bull’s second car, with Liam Lawson at the wheel, is hopelessly behind. The New Zealander was 14th in the F1 sprint in Shanghai on Saturday, 35.1 seconds behind Verstappen. With just 19 race laps, that’s an average of 1.8 seconds per lap. In qualifying, Lawson was 20th and last.
There are wild theories circulating in the paddock that the VCARB 02 from the Racing Bulls might even be the better overall package than its “big brother” RB21. What many experts ridicule is not so abstruse to Verstappen: “When Liam was still with Racing Bulls, he was pretty much on a par with Yuki. There wasn’t much difference between the two. Otherwise, the team wouldn’t have decided to put Liam in the car. And now the gap is very big, and the Racing Bulls are very close to me. That says it all.”
It’s clear that the Red Bull is different to drive than the VCARB 02: “When I talk to Liam, he says it’s easier to drive than our car. If you take the average of the two drivers, even with the other teams, then everyone is pretty close. That means that our car is extremely difficult. I think if you give it to the Racing Bulls, they’ll be faster.” When asked incredulously, Verstappen confirms: “Yes, I really believe that.”
That the smaller Red Bull team could have done a better job in technical development than the big one seems unthinkable to many Formula 1 experts. But it wouldn’t be the first time that Faenza has done better than Milton Keynes. In 2008, Toro Rosso scored 39 points (including Vettel’s great moment in Monza), while Red Bull Racing only scored 29. “One thing is clear: we have to improve,” says Verstappen with a shrug of the shoulders.
RB21: More attack, less tire conservation
It is striking that in recent years, Red Bull has always been the team that had the best grip on tire wear. No wonder: if you have the fastest car, you don’t have to attack as much, and that saves Pirelli’s “black gold”. Now Verstappen has to attack to keep up with the leaders. And the wet Grand Prix in Melbourne and the dry F1 sprint in Shanghai have shown that the longer a stint lasts, the more he loses pace.
A dilemma from which Verstappen sees no way out without technical developments: “I can also drive slowly. Then I’ll just get overtaken. It doesn’t make much difference,” he sighs, adding with an eye to Sunday: “We’ve changed a few things. But I don’t think it will make much difference.”
