Saudi Arabian Grand Prix: Red Bull must 'calm car down' to help Verstappen

Red Bull must "calm" their RB21 car to give Max Verstappen the best chance of competing for a fifth straight drivers' championship, says team principal Christian Horner.

Verstappen won the Japanese Grand Prix two weeks ago and is the only non-McLaren driver to triumph at any race so far this season.

With 69 points, he is within eight of drivers' championship leader Lando Norris and five behind Oscar Piastri, who is considered the title favourite by many following victories in China and Bahrain.

However, the Dutchman needed a strong drive to finish sixth in Bahrain last week, having struggled with overheating and break issues. Despite a safety car midway through the race, he was some 34 seconds behind winner Piastri.

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko said this week he harbours "great concerns" over Verstappen's future with the team, given he has performance clauses in his contract that could allow him to leave before his deal expires in 2028.

Horner says Red Bull have isolated issues with their car and have upgrades in the pipeline ahead of Sunday's race in Jeddah, though.

"I think it's clear we understand what the problem is. It's implementing the solution," said Horner.

"We need to unpick it and you get a big shift. How these cars are working with the back or front wings and so on... It's unpicking all that and basically calming the car down."

However, Horner added that issues with Red Bull's wind tunnel have frustrated their efforts to fix those shortcomings between race weekends.

"The problem is that the solutions we see within our tools compared to what we're seeing on track aren't correlating," Horner added.

"You end up with a mishmash between what your tools are telling you and what the track data is. We're at the end of a set of regulations where the gains are very, very marginal.

"We're seeing some of the shortcomings in our current tunnel that struggles in that area."

Red Bull are not the only team to struggle to match McLaren's pace in the early weeks of 2025, with Ferrari fourth in the constructors' standings and yet to see either of their drivers finish on the podium.

Lewis Hamilton has expressed disappointment with his early performances in the famous red livery, but team principal Frederic Vasseur says that is a good mindset to have.

"It's good to have Lewis with this mindset of, 'I have to improve myself and adapt myself to the car'," he said. 

"We will adapt the car to Lewis, but he has to also make a step. This is done in a positive way and a very constructive way between us."

DRIVERS TO WATCH 

Max Verstappen – Red Bull

Verstappen has scored 3,092.5 points in total throughout his Formula One career, and he could become the driver with the second-most in F1 history this weekend.

Six more points will see him surpass Sebastian Vettel (3,098). Hamilton remains some way clear in first, though, with 4,887.5.

He will bid to climb the standings at a venue that has brought him plenty of success.

Verstappen is the only driver with repeat victories at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix (2022 and 2024), and the only driver to have finished on the podium in each of the four races held in Jeddah.

Red Bull, meanwhile, are the only team to repeat pole position at this race, taking pole position at each of the last three editions: Sergio Perez in 2022 and 2023, and Verstappen in 2024. Mercedes, via Hamilton, were the first team to do so in 2021.

Oscar Piastri – McLaren

Piastri became the first repeat winner of the 2025 season last time out, leading to talk that he may have replaced team-mate Norris as the title favourite.

The Australian has taken pole and victory at two of his last three Grands Prix. He failed to take pole position at any of his previous 47, only winning one of those races.

He has also finished each of the last 32 Grands Prix he has appeared at. 

Should he finish in Saudi Arabia, he will equal the fourth and fifth best streaks in F1 history: Nick Heidfeld's 33 between China 2007 and Italy 2009, and Hamilton's 33 between Japan 2016 and France 2018.

Meanwhile, McLaren have scored points at each of the last 42 Grands Prix. Only once have they had a longer such run in F1, going 64 straight races with points between Bahrain 2010 and Monaco 2013.

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

Drivers'

1. Lando Norris (McLaren) – 77
2. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 74
3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 69
4. George Russell (Mercedes) – 63
5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 32

Constructors'

1. McLaren – 151
2. Mercedes – 93
3. Red Bull – 71
4. Ferrari – 57
5. Haas – 20