Despite finishing 2nd at the Australian Grand Prix, it is evident that Red Bull is far behind McLaren in terms of pace. In the middle of the race, both the McLaren drivers were able to build a 15-second gap to Max Verstappen, who was struggling with the tyres. However, the team’s senior advisor, Helmut Marko, hopes to close this gap as they prepare to bring upgrades in the early part of the season.
Same as last year, the 2025 F1 calendar has a total of 24 races. It is a very long season ahead. Although McLaren has the fastest car on the grid at the moment, Red Bull could catch up in the near future, provided they bring some effective upgrades soon.
Helmut Marko gives timeline on first upgrade package for Red Bull
After the Australian Grand Prix, Helmut Marko was very clear about the team’s position going forward.
“McLaren is doing better when it comes to tire wear, we still have to work on that,” Marko told ORF.
“We hope to take a big step forward (pace-wise) between the third and fifth races”
Although there is a pace deficit for Red Bull when compared to McLaren, the team are planning to bring an upgrade package that is expected to make a big step forward. This package can be expected in the early part of the season, between the Japanese Grand Prix and the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
The street circuit at Jeddah is a track that Max Verstappen has excelled at in the past. So if Red Bull is able to develop a strong upgrade package by then, we could see Max fighting with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri for race wins. We did see him do it in Melbourne as well, but that is largely contributed to the dynamic conditions that were present at the race.
Liam Lawson’s disastrous weekend at Melbourne
Liam Lawson made his Red Bull debut at the Australian Grand Prix. Even though the expectations for him were not too high, Lawson was still disappointed. On Saturday, he got knocked out in Q1, so the team decided to make some additional changes to prepare the car for a wet race, which resulted in him starting from the pit lane.
On Sunday, Lawson made very minimal progress through most of the race. During the closing stages of the race, Lawson made an error and sent his RB21 to the wall, instantly ending his race with a DNF.
However, this was Lawson’s first race in the Red Bull, and it was very challenging conditions. Although Lawson is technically not a rookie, this year will mark his first full season in Formula 1. Out of all the 5 rookies that took part in the Australian GP, only 2 of them completed the race.
So we could still see Lawson recover in the coming week in Shanghai. If not, Red Bull will have a difficult time in the Constructors’ Championship against Mercedes and Ferrari, maybe even Williams.
Do you think Max Verstappen can take the fight to the McLarens this season? Also, where do you think Red Bull can finish in the WCC this year? Post your thoughts in the comments section below.
