Red Bull: RB21 disappoints expectations with a difficult start in F1 Australian GP weekend. Helmut Marko assessed the pecking order after free practice in Australia.

The two weeks between pre-season testing in Bahrain and the opening weekend of the 2025 season do not seem to have changed much for Red Bull. The first day of track activity at Albert Park confirmed the team’s ongoing technical struggles, with Max Verstappen and Liam Lawson grappling with drivability issues on the new RB21.

In the past, even recently, the team has had difficult Fridays but always with the confidence that they could turn things around overnight through technical briefings and simulator work in Milton Keynes.

This time, that does not seem to be the case, to the point where the team is strongly hoping for rain, which is forecasted for Sunday, to improve their situation. “From what we’ve seen, McLaren currently looks like the strongest team, with Ferrari close behind, followed by Mercedes and us. Maybe we can aim for the lowest step on the podium, but if it rains, both the changing conditions and Max’s talent could bring us back into the fight—we’ll see.”

Max Verstappen and Liam Lawson finished the first day of practice in seventh and seventeenth place, with Max slightly closer to his direct rivals in race simulations. “We were better in FP1,” Marko commented. “The changes we made before FP2 didn’t work as expected.”

“Tomorrow, we still have another practice session to work on the cars, but we’ve confirmed that we’re currently about two or three tenths behind. At best, I’d say we could aim for the second row in qualifying.”

What is making things difficult for Verstappen and Lawson is an uncharacteristic behavior for a Red Bull—the car suddenly transitions from understeer to oversteer at multiple points around Albert Park. “We can see it in the data as well,” Marko confirmed, “and it’s a problem that also affects tire management. We have an idea of what to do for tomorrow, but I don’t think we can aim for more than a podium finish.”

For Lawson, who is driving at Albert Park for the first time, his Red Bull debut is proving more challenging than expected. However, Marko (unusually) is not putting pressure on him. “To evaluate Liam, we are comparing his performance with Antonelli’s,” Marko explained. “The two are running at more or less the same pace, despite Lawson not using the full power of his engine. So, for now, it’s fine, but we know he definitely has significant room for improvement.”