At Red Bull, it’s clear that the team doesn’t want to leave anything to chance and finish the 2025 season with regrets. Two key goals remain achievable: the first, less significant on paper, is securing second place in the Constructors’ Championship. Thanks to recent upgrades, the RB21 has regained pace, and with Max Verstappen’s performances, the team has recovered important points on Mercedes and Ferrari. Max Verstappen’s strong pace has also kept him in contention in the Drivers’ Championship—a challenging target, but no longer an impossible one. Laurent Mekies and his engineers are therefore pushing to maximize technical performance, while also supporting Yuki Tsunoda, with the aim of closing the season on a positive note after a difficult 2025.
Tsunoda to get new front wing, Max Verstappen to use latest floor upgrades
After the Austin Grand Prix, Helmut Marko made it clear that Red Bull’s development plan was not finished. The RB21 would still receive several new parts before the end of the year. According to the Italian media, the original plan was to bring these upgrades in Brazil, but once again, Milton Keynes decided to accelerate development and catch the competition by surprise. Laurent Mekies’ team is using the Mexican Grand Prix to play its final cards, pushing to extend the championship fight and also challenge Mercedes and Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship. Supporting this effort is Yuki Tsunoda, who comes into Mexico on a two-race points streak and will run the latest front wing specification that Verstappen is already using.
However, the Japanese driver will not be entirely on equal footing, as Max Verstappen’s RB21 will be equipped with the newest floor developments for the Mexican circuit. Given the high-altitude conditions and technical demands of the track, Red Bull will also run modified front brake ducts, an engine cover with wider cooling gills, and carefully designed solutions to better dissipate heat from the Power Unit in the thin air. Verstappen’s updates include changes in the critical floor area, particularly the side sections containing the flow generators. The first two generators have been reshaped to a more conventional design, similar to solutions used by other teams.
The second update is located closer to the inner floor near the sidepods, now featuring a more rounded profile. The team is seeking every possible gain in downforce without altering the balance and stability achieved by previous upgrades, allowing Max Verstappen to continue the performance leap seen after the summer break.
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