F1 | Red Bull’s resurgence: the secret behind their performance gains
The last few Grands Prix, particularly Austin, have revealed a crucial fact: Red Bull has made a noticeable step forward in performance, drawing closer to McLaren. While the Woking-based team has suffered from halted development, this very choice has allowed Milton Keynes to recover ground. Let’s explore how.
“If someone had said after Zandvoort that I could win the championship, I would have called them an idiot!” Max Verstappen’s comment after his Austin victory perfectly illustrates how the title fight has shifted in just two months. McLaren no longer enjoys the advantage it once held, and the championship battle now comes down to optimizing the smallest details.
It is undeniable that Oscar Piastri’s recent slump — losing over sixty points in just four races — has been a decisive factor. At the same time, Red Bull’s progress has been significant, helped by McLaren’s early cessation of development. Two opposing philosophies, executed at different points in the season. McLaren decided to halt MCL39 updates before the summer break, when they held a clear lead. Red Bull, on the other hand, introduced incremental upgrades that allowed them to gradually close the gap, even surprising McLaren themselves.
Demonstrating greater “completeness” in Austin
So what exactly has enabled Red Bull to regain competitiveness and, above all, deliver a more complete package? Throughout the season, the RB21 has consistently challenged the MCL39, delivering spectacular performances on favorable tracks but also suffering noticeable setbacks in Bahrain and Hungary. What was missing was consistency and a bit of overall performance to transform occasional brilliance into sustained competitiveness.
Red Bull’s revival in the second half of the season has been, in the words of Laurent Mekies, “spectacular,” particularly from Italy onward. Critics might argue that circuits like Baku and Monza suited the RB21, while Singapore’s low- to medium-speed corners also favored focused setup work. Austin, however, offered a more comprehensive test: a variety of corner types demanded setup compromises, making it perhaps the clearest demonstration of Red Bull’s progress. While McLaren was hindered by incidents, limited sprint data affecting setup choices, and traffic, the RB21 showed impressive solidity.
Ride height: a key factor
The central question is: what lies behind this turnaround? After Monza, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella suggested that Red Bull’s updates might have allowed for a lower ride height, a point he reiterated in Austin. In recent races, Red Bull drivers often reported excessive floor contact with the track, a clear indication that the car was operating close to the ground.
“If they’ve improved the car, it’s probably because they solved some aerodynamic issues. We know Monza brought a new floor and Singapore a new wing. Their drivers also discuss ride height and floor contact a lot more. They may have realized that this generation of car needs to run very close to the limits, like ride height. If I had to bet a dollar, I’d put it there,” Stella explained after Saturday qualifying.
It’s no secret that these cars are extremely sensitive to ride height. McLaren, lacking sprint data on plank wear, had to build in a safety margin for the race. For Max Verstappen, however, excessive floor contact in FP1 required finding a more stable balance. Each car wears its plank differently, depending on aerodynamic mapping and load distribution, which in turn affects overall balance and suspension setup choices.
Not just ride height: multiple elements contributed
Helmut Marko admitted with a smile that Stella’s theory wasn’t wrong, while clarifying that Red Bull’s new approach, particularly in ride height management, wouldn’t have been effective without the Monza floor update. Laurent Mekies, meanwhile, preferred a cautious stance, noting that attributing Red Bull’s revival to a single factor would be an oversimplification.
In reality, it’s a cascade of improvements. From Spain onward, Red Bull has worked extensively on the front wing, introducing progressive updates to increase downforce and reduce chronic understeer, restoring a more neutral and predictable balance to the RB21. Excluding Monza-specific adaptations, the team implemented four front wing revisions and two floor updates, alongside additional upgrades.
A key detail in Austin was the wing configuration. Each team follows its development philosophy, but Red Bull’s choice of a higher-loaded front wing, partly in combination with the floor, contributed to a more balanced car. Combined with other changes, the RB21 became easier to drive, as Verstappen himself confirmed, reigniting hopes for a title challenge.
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