2025 Oracle Red Bull Racing F1 Team

[avantman]

Schooling is a bit of a stretch though when it is clear it is completely setup related. Both McLarens were quicker but could not overtake due to different DF settings. It’s just the way things played out.

True, but had the roles been reversed, Max would have still won in that Mclaren today.
By simply running less downforce at the rear, to start with. That I could pretty much guarantee you.
So, the main differentiator was the driver, not the car or its setup.

That is all hypothetical and may or may not have happened, so it’s no real argument to make a case here. Max sealed it on lap one, and then it was about not making mistakes. Good effort, but nothing special.

Of course that all is hypothetical. Lets speak facts now. Facts are Max won several races at Spa, including sprint, starting from Pole and not getting overtaken on lap 1.
That makes me believe what I just said is not just hypotheticals but assumptions based on historical data.
Yet some people believe pole sitter always loses the lead at the end of the Kemel straight on lap 1 at Spa.

[Jurgen von Diaz]

Why wouldn't Tsunoda use a skinny rear wing if it brings so much performance? Can't handle it, maybe?

[Tvetovnato]

True, but had the roles been reversed, Max would have still won in that Mclaren today.
By simply running less downforce at the rear, to start with. That I could pretty much guarantee you.
So, the main differentiator was the driver, not the car or its setup.

That is all hypothetical and may or may not have happened, so it’s no real argument to make a case here. Max sealed it on lap one, and then it was about not making mistakes. Good effort, but nothing special.

Of course that all is hypothetical. Lets speak facts now. Facts are Max won several races at Spa, including sprint, starting from Pole and not getting overtaken on lap 1.
That makes me believe what I just said is not just hypotheticals but assumptions based on historical data.
Yet some people believe pole sitter always loses the lead at the end of the Kemel straight on lap 1 at Spa.

The facts here are that Verstappen had a lower DF setting than the car in front, and slipstreamed so well past that he was more than a car length ahead at the braking point. The fact of that is that the car is doing the job for you. Then he did a good job of not making mistakes, applauses for that, but let’s not pretend he did anything special. It was all straight line speed advantage that got him this one to start with.

[Farnborough]

That is all hypothetical and may or may not have happened, so it’s no real argument to make a case here. Max sealed it on lap one, and then it was about not making mistakes. Good effort, but nothing special.

Of course that all is hypothetical. Lets speak facts now. Facts are Max won several races at Spa, including sprint, starting from Pole and not getting overtaken on lap 1.
That makes me believe what I just said is not just hypotheticals but assumptions based on historical data.
Yet some people believe pole sitter always loses the lead at the end of the Kemel straight on lap 1 at Spa.

The facts here are that Verstappen had a lower DF setting than the car in front, and slipstreamed so well past that he was more than a car length ahead at the braking point. The fact of that is that the car is doing the job for you. Then he did a good job of not making mistakes, applauses for that, but let’s not pretend he did anything special. It was all straight line speed advantage that got him this one to start with.

The reality here is .... that this driver can convey, and fulfill with abilities, an extended skill set that allows his team to setup with such light downforce that it can be advantaged against a very, very competent McL team and driver combination.

Hanging it on the line, right at those sketchy far reaches of grip and the highest velocity makes it a interesting balance to watch.

He's both willing to take it on and cover it with a very fully developed skills "sphere" that many drivers in F1 so rarely get to.

[Juzh]

A monkey could have driven that RB21 to sprint win, get that silly Dutchman out of the car already. Nevermind tsunoda was 1.5s slower on average. And yes, I know he's not on same spec, but old spec is not 1.5s slower.

[Jurgen von Diaz]

That is all hypothetical and may or may not have happened, so it’s no real argument to make a case here. Max sealed it on lap one, and then it was about not making mistakes. Good effort, but nothing special.

Of course that all is hypothetical. Lets speak facts now. Facts are Max won several races at Spa, including sprint, starting from Pole and not getting overtaken on lap 1.
That makes me believe what I just said is not just hypotheticals but assumptions based on historical data.
Yet some people believe pole sitter always loses the lead at the end of the Kemel straight on lap 1 at Spa.

The facts here are that Verstappen had a lower DF setting than the car in front, and slipstreamed so well past that he was more than a car length ahead at the braking point. The fact of that is that the car is doing the job for you. Then he did a good job of not making mistakes, applauses for that, but let’s not pretend he did anything special. It was all straight line speed advantage that got him this one to start with.

The car is doing the job? Poor Tsunoda who can't even get pass of their sister team in the middle pack.

[avantman]

Why wouldn't Tsunoda use a skinny rear wing if it brings so much performance? Can't handle it, maybe?

looking at his and Max overlays from SQ2 and SQ1, it definitely looks like Tsunoda was running even less overall downforce than Max, most definitely because he could not live with Max level of front wing and had run shallow flaps to balance it out with their skinny rear.
overall he was lossing almost everywhere except for the straight coming into the final chicane.

[avantman]

Am I the only one who can almost feel the pain of all the naysayers through my computer screen?

By the way, Leclerc had much higher top speed all the race. Not sure how did he manage to get overtaken by the slower Mclaren of Norris.

[Sergej]

Going by Max's words, it seems they will add more downforce for tomorrow.

[Emag]

Am I the only one who can almost feel the pain of all the naysayers through my computer screen?

By the way, Leclerc had much higher top speed all the race. Not sure how did he manage to get overtaken by the slower Mclaren of Norris.

Because Ferrari were absolutely horrid in the bus stop and the first corner. You can just look at the onboards, its ridiculous, it wasn't turning at all. RedBull could make the low downforce setup work (with Max). Ferrari obviously tried their best compromise as well, but their car wasn't as good as RedBull here.

[Wouter]

Did Max use the new frontwing in the sprint qualification?

.
no they reverted back to old wing

.
Thank you @Sergej.

Didn't it work as expected? Will he use it in quali this afternoon and in the GP?

[Tvetovnato]

A monkey could have driven that RB21 to sprint win, get that silly Dutchman out of the car already. Nevermind tsunoda was 1.5s slower on average. And yes, I know he's not on same spec, but old spec is not 1.5s slower.

That is not what I am saying at all, but somehow fans of teams/drivers intepret things like that if you don’t agree with their extreme praise of their team or driver. But not everything is black and white. In fact, nothing is when analysing this sport.

It was a good effort by Max as usual, and yes, he is one of few if not the only one who can drive that car that fast. But that is not the point here. The point is that you said that Max was schooling the McLaren drivers because he beat them, and I do not agree. Piastri did exactly what he could, and Norris too. Well within DRS range and around 0,5-6 behind all through the lap almost all laps, even 0,3 at the beginning of the DRS zone and still not passing setup related. Max actually even made a mistake in the bus stop with Piastri right behind, and still there was no pass.

It was a good performance by all of them, and Max came out on top. It can be like that as well.

[venkyhere]

'setup of the car' mattered and as we all know it's a trapeze act.
There is scope for tweaks before the main race, and either/both of RBR or McL can 'overdo the changes' and spoil it for themselves tomorrow, taking into account the rain as well.

[Juzh]

Max's lap from yesterday's sprint quali 1:40.987

https://streamable.com/vfkk4i

[Emag]

A monkey could have driven that RB21 to sprint win, get that silly Dutchman out of the car already. Nevermind tsunoda was 1.5s slower on average. And yes, I know he's not on same spec, but old spec is not 1.5s slower.

That is not what I am saying at all, but somehow fans of teams/drivers intepret things like that if you don’t agree with their extreme praise of their team or driver. But not everything is black and white. In fact, nothing is when analysing this sport.

It was a good effort by Max as usual, and yes, he is one of few if not the only one who can drive that car that fast. But that is not the point here. The point is that you said that Max was schooling the McLaren drivers because he beat them, and I do not agree. Piastri did exactly what he could, and Norris too. Well within DRS range and around 0,5-6 behind all through the lap almost all laps, even 0,3 at the beginning of the DRS zone and still not passing setup related. Max actually even made a mistake in the bus stop with Piastri right behind, and still there was no pass.

It was a good performance by all of them, and Max came out on top. It can be like that as well.

It's always this narrative that McLaren driver have to be sh*t and Max a god.
If Max wins, he is pulling miracles. If Max doesn't win, he is pulling miracles.
If Max finishes the race far from McLaren, the McLaren is a rocketship and RedBull is a boat, but Max is pulling miracles to finish within 30s against that overpowered car.
If Max finishes the race close to McLaren, the McLaren is still a rocketship, but the drivers are so bad they can't get the pace out of it, while Max is pulling miracles to stay within touching distances.

If you remove these preconceptions it's pretty easy to see that the cars have their strengths and weaknesses. McLaren is undoubtedly the best and the most balanced car on the grid, but when things work out for the opposition where they can exploit their strengths to the maximum while minimizing their weaknesses, McLaren can be beaten. It is what happened with this Sprint as well.

Of course you need the driver to drive the car to its limit. Max may be the only driver in the grid who can consistently manage to pull off such a thing. But on a sprint race where Max could afford a mistake and still the following car couldn't even get alongside him in the Kemmel straight, calling it "schooling" and a "miracle drive" is a bit of a stretch ...