Red Bull Set to Counter Australian GP Setback With Major RB21 Upgrades

Following McLaren’s display of dominant pace at the Australian Grand Prix season opener, which proved challenging for Red Bull to match, Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko has revealed that his team will introduce performance upgrades on the RB21 Formula One car in a few weeks.

Four-time world champion Max Verstappen admitted during the race weekend at Albert Park that the car needed more work. As seen in the last two laps of the Grand Prix, Verstappen struggled to pass McLaren’s Lando Norris, eventually settling for a second-place race finish.

This is quite a contrast to Red Bull’s dominant pace seen in the first half of the 2024 season. However, the team began to face balance problems on the car in the second half, as Verstappen struggled to maintain his championship lead but managed to secure his fourth title with his racing prowess.

On the other hand, his former teammate Sergio Perez found it difficult to score points, eventually causing Red Bull to lose the top two positions in the Constructors’ Championship to McLaren and Ferrari. Perez was replaced by Liam Lawson for the 2025 season.

The Australian GP marked the first time Verstappen hadn’t been leading the championship since 2022, and Lawson’s crash added to Red Bull’s worries on Sunday. The team is aware that handing Verstappen a fast car is the need of the hour.

With upgrades in the pipeline, Marko admitted that the RB21 has been affected by problems which will soon be addressed. Speaking to Sky Deutschland, as quoted by RacingNews365, the 81-year-old was asked if the issues on the car were mechanical or aerodynamic. He said:

“Both. But that cannot be solved so quickly.

“So we hope that around the third to fifth race we will take an important step forward.”

In a separate interview, Marko revealed that Red Bull understands the areas where the car’s pace is lacking, acknowledging that tire degradation occurs sooner on the RB21 than on McLaren’s MCL39. He told Viaplay, as quoted by PlanetF1:

“We can match them for six-eight laps, but then our tyre degradation comes earlier, and that’s the main problem we have to work on.

“But through the conditions and changing safety car and so on, Max was there, and I think in the last six laps he was the faster guy, but of course there was just one dry line and overtaking was not possible, so what he tried is to push Lando into a mistake.

“Didn’t do so, but I think it’s a very good result for us and it will be a tough season.”