Is Racing Bulls really faster than Red Bull? Ralf Schumacher casts verdict

Starting the season with the ambition to defend his hard-won fourth consecutive world title from last year, Max Verstappen’s 2025 campaign with Red Bull has so far proven more challenging than expected.

Contributing to this is a RB21 that isn’t quite on par with the MCL-39, although the Dutchman can still boast two wins and five podiums from the first fourteen races, but still well behind the McLaren duo who are battling for the championship.

However, what has caused the most concern so far this season has been the performance of Red Bull’s second driver.

Liam Lawson was demoted to Racing Bulls after just two races with zero points scored, while Yuki Tsunoda has managed to score only ten points since his promotion in Japan.

In contrast, the junior team—led until recently by Laurent Mekies, who became the new team principal at Milton Keynes following Christian Horner’s dismissal—has delivered excellent results so far, with Hadjar and Lawson frequently finishing in the top ten.

After fourteen races, the Faenza-based team sits eighth in the constructors’ standings with 45 points, locked in a close battle with Sauber and Aston Martin just a few points ahead.

Racing Bulls’ performances and the handling issues of the RB21 have raised some questions in recent races, with some speculating that Verstappen could potentially be even faster if he were driving the other car.

Ralf Schumacher also tried to answer the question, commenting to BILD while praising the Italian outfit: "The car is stable, can cope with all conditions. They do a great job.''