F1 | Red Bull’s technical gamble pays off with Las Vegas dominance
Red Bull introduced a new front wing in Las Vegas, with chief engineer Paul Monaghan explaining the team’s approach behind the update. With only three races remaining in the 2025 season, and most teams having ceased major car upgrades, Red Bull brought an interesting new front-wing specification, creating a tailored aerodynamic package for the Qatar GP weekend.
The new front wing builds on the version first introduced in the Netherlands and evolved through to Singapore. It features substantial changes to the two movable flaps, now with a reduced chord and lower camber angle. This modification aims to relieve aerodynamic load on the front of the car, which is particularly important for the long straights in Las Vegas, helping to increase top speed.
Paul Monaghan explained to Formula 1 media how Red Bull prepared this update:
“What we did was take the existing flaps, the third and fourth elements of the front wing among the fixed parts. We can essentially trim them while staying within the regulations, and that’s what we brought here to reduce front-end load and balance it with the rear wing.”
The process behind every pre-race upgrade
“The first thing we do is anticipate which rear wing we think we’ll use in the race, then the aerodynamic balance we expect. At that point, we define a possible geometry for the flaps. It’s a fairly established process: this isn’t our first time, so hopefully we’re not too far from our predictions.”
These statements came ahead of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, where Max Verstappen would go on to dominate without challenge. Paul Monaghan was later asked if this update was planned or a reaction to previous races:
“It’s a bit of a reaction to recent races because this wing has already been used at tracks like Monza, Baku, and probably Silverstone as well. When we design a front wing, we try to make it work across a wide range of rear wings and aerodynamic balances.”
“Being an evolution of an existing specification, we can leverage previous flap versions and then trim them to achieve the configuration we have here.”
Red Bull’s commitment to the championship is clear, and their decision to continue upgrading the RB21 just three races from the end demonstrates this. While the title fight seemed out of reach, the disqualification of both McLaren drivers in Las Vegas has reignited hopes at Milton Keynes.
Low-drag front wing, perfectly balanced car, unstoppable Verstappen – Red Bull’s late-season gamble paid off in spectacular fashion under the Vegas lights, and the title fight is officially back on.
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