There’s one certainty: Max Verstappen. He collected his fourth win at Imola with Red Bull and is now only 22 points behind Oscar Piastri, the Drivers’ Championship leader after seven races. The Dutchman knows how to seize every opportunity and played a major role himself: he took the lead of the race with a decisive move at Tamburello, and after that, everyone only saw him from behind.
But today, the picture wouldn’t be complete without acknowledging that Red Bull has also improved with the latest RB21 upgrade package, because even Yuki Tsunoda—who started from the pit lane after Saturday’s crash at Villeneuve—managed to climb into the points zone with a car rebuilt from scratch using the spare chassis and missing some of the newest parts.
“I’m not sure it was a major improvement. But there was progress in the right direction.”
Speaking is Pierre Waché, Red Bull’s technical director, carefully choosing his words.
“Maybe we were surprised that the others didn’t perform better.”
The Frenchman doesn’t want to label it as a turning point for the season but does offer a significant hint:
“I think the upgrade brings something, in how we can manage the tyres…”
They clearly worked on the rear brake ducts—an area where McLaren had excelled in controlling tyre temperatures and wear.
Well, compared to Miami, the differences are clear…
“We’ve taken it step by step. Today the conditions were a bit different from Friday. The asphalt was hotter, and it affected our rivals more than us. That surprised us.”
It’s common belief that the hotter it is, the better McLaren performs. That didn’t happen in Imola…
“I think the degradation was due to a different mechanism…”
It would be nice to know more…
“No, even if I did know, I wouldn’t say it anyway. One thing seems clear to me: the tyre wear and surface were completely different from what we saw on Friday.”
Was the change down to different tyre temperatures?
“Maybe, yes.”
Did you find the right operating window?
“The setup improved a lot. And I think the new package offers the opportunity to improve further—more in the race than in qualifying. In single-lap pace, maybe we missed something.”
But there’s often a big shift between Friday and Saturday…
“We have a very tricky car because it works with no suspension travel. And even the engine mapping has a big impact in Friday practice. Some use a more aggressive mode, others don’t.”
How do you expect to perform at the next tracks?
“I don’t know. We were competitive in Japan and did badly in Bahrain and Miami. Nothing is guaranteed, especially since they’re developing their car and have a great one. So we also still need to push to the maximum.”
In short, the feeling is that Red Bull has improved, but reading between the lines, this time it may have been McLaren who lost something. However, unlike more confrontational moments at other races, Milton Keynes seems to be opting for diplomacy—perhaps because they’ve finally found the right way to manage rear-corner tyre temperatures?
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