Red Bull faces crucial update: Is Verstappen's title hanging by a thread?

Despite a 2025 season so far below expectations and an RB-21 that falls short compared to the MCL-39, Red Bull has no intention of handing the title over to McLaren easily—least of all Max Verstappen.

The Dutchman sits just 43 points behind championship leader Oscar Piastri but needs an improved RB21 to close the gap. The car struggles over bumps, suffers from understeer, and has a very narrow operating window. An update expected in Austria aims to address these issues, according to Helmut Marko

'We have an update for Austria, which will be refined for Silverstone. But if it doesn't work, then it will be very difficult in the world championship. As if it isn't hard enough at this moment,' the Austrian told Kleine Zeitung.

'At a certain point, we will have to say: 'This is it in terms of development', he added.

Although none of the top teams intend to let up too soon, much of the focus is already on 2026, which will mark one of the biggest regulatory revolutions in Formula 1 history. Red Bull will also face an additional challenge: developing their very first in-house Power Unit, created entirely with help from Ford.

Red Bull obviously hopes to at least fight for the drivers’ championship until the very end, especially given Tsunoda’s poor results in the constructors’ standings. However, the RB-21 project could be shelved if things don’t improve despite the upcoming upgrades.

This article was written in collaboration with Tim Kraaij