The 2025 Formula 1 season is witnessing a dramatic power shift as Max Verstappen and the Red Bull Racing team make a stunning return to form with devastating pace. Following convincing victories in Monza and Baku, Verstappen has not only bolstered his own championship hopes but has also pushed the current leader, McLaren, into an incredibly precarious position. The balance of power is shifting, and the biggest question now is: Is this a true Red Bull revival, or just a fleeting surge before their underlying weaknesses resurface?

The Return of the Raging Bull: Verstappen’s Unexpected Dominance

Max Verstappen made an undeniable statement at Monza, securing a victory with an astonishing 19-second margin over McLaren’s Lando Norris—a new record for the largest winning margin of the year. Not stopping there, he continued his absolute dominance in Baku, further cementing his impressive run. These back-to-back triumphs have begun to chip away at McLaren’s championship advantage. However, Red Bull Racing Team Principal, Laurent Mekies, remains cautiously optimistic. He emphasizes that the fight will be taken race by race, refusing to celebrate prematurely. “I think we probably feel today that some of the good stuff we have seen in Monza, we found here again,” Mekies shared following the Azerbaijan GP. He also noted that the car’s outstanding performance in Baku, particularly in the slow-speed corners and low-downforce conditions, was “a different equation to Monza”, which is good news for the team.

However, Mekies is quick to admit that the RB21 is not bulletproof. Even with the new floor introduced at Monza, its flaws are still lurking beneath the surface. Specifically, high-heat and high-downforce circuits continue to expose its weaknesses—a worrying sign with seven demanding races left on the calendar, and the notoriously grueling Singapore Grand Prix up next. “We take the challenge of Singapore; it’s a track that’s been challenging for the team for many, many years,” Mekies added. He stressed the importance of assessing “what suddenly doesn’t work there anymore” in the context of the upgrades the team is trying to implement. After that, the team will return to tracks with medium-speed corners, where McLaren had “killed” them just two races ago in Zandvoort and Spa, with a gap of up to half a second per lap.

Red Bull’s Silent Strategy: From Floor Upgrades to the 2026 Vision

Like many other top teams, Red Bull has already shifted much of its focus to the seismic regulation changes coming in 2026. This means major upgrades for the current car this year are unlikely. Instead, the team is concentrating on tweaking its operational methods and optimizing performance from its existing package. Driver input is being given more weight than ever, with Yuki Tsunoda logging long hours in the simulator after a tough outing in Monza. The goal is to find the fine margins that could keep Red Bull in the fight.

When asked if these changes had “unlocked” something in the RB21, Mekies explained that the team does not believe in a single “silver bullet”. “We think there is a combination of a lot of small details that have extracted more performance out of the car,” he said. The Monza floor is just one part of that, along with several other changes they have made. However, regarding the car’s true competitiveness in different circumstances, he admitted, “honestly, we don’t know”, and they remain hopeful for the upcoming races.

Max Verstappen himself remains cautious, warning that “everything must fall into place” if he is to mount a serious title challenge, even after strengthening his championship bid with back-to-back victories. “I think it’s just a combination of a lot of things that are going better in the last few weeks, so we understood a bit more about the car,” the reigning world champion explained. He also acknowledged that Monza and Baku are low-downforce tracks, so the team will have to “wait and see” how they perform on high-downforce layouts.

Red Bull’s resurgence and Verstappen’s mounting challenge are also hot topics in the media. Simon Lazenby, host of the Sky Sports F1 Show podcast, recently shed light on a conversation he had with Laurent Mekies, offering fresh insight into the Austrian camp’s current momentum. Speaking specifically about Verstappen’s bid to muscle his way back into the title fight, Lazenby recalled what Red Bull’s team boss told him during the Baku weekend: “It’s a lot of little things that have made the car better, but that floor upgrade in Monza was something that they genuinely thought has brought them back into it”.

However, Lazenby also points out one final obstacle Verstappen and Red Bull must overcome before they can truly state their claim as championship front-runners. “If we get to Singapore, which has been Max’s bogey track, and he comes out with another victory there, or at least the car looks very, very quick, that will tell whether or not he’s fully back in the game”.

McLaren in the Eye of the Storm: Andrea Stella’s Candid Admission of Danger

On the other side of the rivalry, McLaren boss Andrea Stella isn’t mincing words. After a difficult weekend in Azerbaijan for both Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, Stella made it clear that Verstappen remains a “very real danger” in the drivers’ standings.

Reflecting on the Dutchman’s rising threat, he said, “I used the capital letters already yesterday when I said ‘YES’ in capital letters, and today I think it just confirms: we’re talking about Max Verstappen, we’re talking about Red Bull”. Stella also observed that Red Bull had improved significantly after Monza, and it wasn’t simply a case of the car adapting well to low drag. “They were fast in the corners—medium-speed and low-speed corners—fast on the straights, and we know that Max, when he has a competitive car, can deliver strong weekends,” he emphasized.

Conversely, McLaren was aware that Baku would be a difficult circuit for them. However, they are hopeful for Singapore, a track where they “should perform well” and can hopefully “go back to fighting for victories”. Stella also affirmed that “definitely Max is in the contention for the drivers’ championship,” a fact they knew and have now had confirmed.

The natural follow-up question was whether McLaren might have to adjust their internal strategy if Verstappen continues to crank up the pressure on both of their drivers. “When you race in Formula 1, when you race at the top of Formula 1 and the competition is so tight, simply you cannot afford errors,” Stella replied. He explained that there will always be contenders ready to take advantage of any mistake, whether it was Mercedes in Canada or Max at the start of the season. He reminded everyone that Red Bull won the first two races of the season, then “slipped back in terms of performance, and now they seem like they found their way back”.

Stella acknowledged that for McLaren, especially in the drivers’ championship fight, “the margins to error reduce furthermore”. However, this is “always the ethos when you’re racing in Formula 1”. He also hoped that the “inaccuracies and issues” from the last weekend were an accumulation of factors, including the car not being fast enough and “some reliability issues that cost Oscar some time during practice”.

The Battle Heats Up: Revival or Reality Check?

With Verstappen clawing back momentum and McLaren feeling the immense pressure, the next races will decide it all. This confrontation is not just about speed on the track, but also about strategy, psychology, and the adaptability of both teams. Will Red Bull continue its meteoric revival and dethrone McLaren? Or will the grueling tracks ahead serve as a harsh reality check, exposing their remaining weaknesses and allowing McLaren to reclaim its lead? The answers will be revealed in the thrilling laps to come.