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Verstappen goes 'step by step' in terms of improving the RB21
Entering the season-opening Grand Prix of the 2025 season, Max Verstappen is not completely confident he can begin the season with a victory in Melbourne. On Thursday, the Dutchman addressed the issues with the RB20.
Verstappen was first asked about in what kind of shape are Red Bull Racing beginning the 2025 campaign, where he hopes to win his fifth title in a row. The driver answered that with a question himself: "What kind of shape?"
He continued: "Positive shape. I don’t know. I guess we'll find out more this weekend and after, but we'll try to do our best. There's not really much more that we can do. Testing is not many days, so we found that there are already a few areas we can work on and that's what we'll continue to do that," he began to explain.
The Dutchman agrees that the RB21 is a step forward from the RB20. "I think naturally there's an improvement, but I've said it before. There are still things that we want to improve on and then do better. Now naturally, this is of course also a different track to Bahrain, so that already will feel a bit different to drive the car here, but, yes, step by step," he continued.
Previously at a Viaplay event where GPblog was present, he already named what the Austrians need to improve on throughout the year.
When will Red Bull began working on the 2026 car?
"Impossible to know at the moment. I know that we are not the quickest at the moment, but again, it's a very long season. If you would have asked that question here last year and then at the end of the season again, it’d look completely different. A lot of things can always change quite quickly in Formula 1."
Being already behind McLaren according to the driver also prompts the question: with the upcoming regulation change, when will Red Bull switch to focus on the 2026 car instead of trying to catch the Woking-based side this season?
"We'll try our best to make it as competitive as possible. Of course, it's the final year of the regulation, so I guess up to a certain point, and I don't know where that is of course, you focus on this year and next year because you focus on whole different thing."
"So, yes, we'll make it more drivable, but it's, Bahrain is very different to what we get here, so it's a bit difficult to say if things have been fully fixed or not. I guess we just have to be patient and see how much we can regain," the defending world champion concluded in Australia.
This article was written in collaboration with Tim Kraaij
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