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Red Bull preview 2025: 'Everyone is going to be nervous for the first test'
Red Bull Racing's Chief Engineer Paul Monaghan has explained why he is certain every F1 team will be "nervous" before the first test for the 2025 Formula 1 season. Max Verstappen seems likely to secure a fourth F1 World Championship title, but Red Bull have their work cut out in the remaining three events if they are to extend their run as Constructors champions.
Verstappen won the Brazilian Grand Prix in style. The Dutchman worked his way through the field in wet conditions to secure his first Grand Prix win since the Spanish GP in June. Red Bull don't currently have the fastest car in the field, and they hope to get that sorted for the 2025 season while balancing the challenges of preparing for a regulation overhaul in 2026.
Red Bull are already working on the 2025 car. Monaghan, the Austrians' chief engineer, says his team have already thought about what will be changed from the current RB20. "I guarantee everybody will be nervous before the first test next year," said the Brit.
"So, it's not as if we didn't know, even at mid-season, what we want to try and achieve with next year's car. And next year's car is compounded by the difficulties of the 2026 car. We know what we want to do. At the moment, all the plans are in place," Monaghan said.
Why Red Bull are dependent on their F1 rivals
The British chief engineer will be watching what other teams are doing: "It's what we do relative to our opposition. We know how much work we want to take on, what we want to try and achieve, and then we'll see how much development work we need to put into it. We want to challenge next year's championships, so it's going to be quite a challenge on everybody within the skills of Red Bull Racing to achieve all our aims. But we'll try," Monaghan concluded.
This article has been created in collaboration with Ludo van Denderen