Follow us on Google Discover Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen has managed to bring himself back into title contention this season, and he might have Ferrari to thank for it.
The 2025 Formula 1 drivers’ championship makes for interesting reading with only five races to go.
Oscar Piastri still leads the championship from his McLaren teammate, Lando Norris, but Max Verstappen is making rapid progress.
Verstappen’s Red Bull suddenly seems to be on a par with McLaren’s MCL39, despite the fact that Andrea Stella’s team have already wrapped up the constructors’ championship with six races to spare.
Position Drivers’ Championship PointsPts 1 346 2 332 3 306 4 252 5 192 6 142 7 89 8 73 9 41 10 39
New team principal Laurent Mekies is refusing to take credit for Red Bull’s achievements, but it’s clear there’s been a shift in how the team operates since Christian Horner’s exit.
Verstappen looks immediately more competitive at the start of race weekends, and even his struggling teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, has scored points at three of the last five events.
It turns out Red Bull might have started taking inspiration from rivals Ferrari, even if their 2025 campaign isn’t going to plan.
READ MORE: All you need to know about Red Bull team principal and CEO Laurent Mekies
Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty ImagesRed Bull have ‘copied’ Ferrari’s simulator-first approach to Formula 1 race weekends
A report from the Italian outlet Gazzetta dello Sport has shared more details about Red Bull’s sudden uptick in form.
They believe that Red Bull’s recent updates have played a part in their improvement, but the team’s new approach to races has played a major role.
It’s believed that while one of Red Bull’s major strengths this season has been their development from FP1 to qualifying, the team are now putting more weight behind what they find in the simulator before each race.
Friday 24th October to Sunday 26th October
Friday 24th October 18:30 1st Practice Friday 24th October 22:00 2nd Practice Saturday 25th October 17:30 3rd Practice Saturday 25th October 21:00 1st Qualifying Saturday 25th October 21:25 2nd Qualifying Saturday 25th October 21:48 3rd Qualifying Sunday 26th October 20:00 Race
These ‘rumours’ as Gazzetta suggests, believe that this tactic started at Ferrari when they delivered a new floor, but now Red Bull have ‘copied’ this approach at each race.
It means Red Bull have a ‘more defined set-up baseline’ going into FP1 before then making specific changes based on Verstappen and Tsunoda’s feedback.
Mekies has been surprised by Verstappen’s technical expertise, which might explain their change in approach.
Suddenly, Red Bull have found a way to extract even more out of the fastest driver on the grid.
READ MORE: All you need to know about Scuderia Ferrari from team principal to factory
Red Bull putting their full faith in Max Verstappen is the key to winning the drivers’ championship
There have already been examples since Mekies took over of Verstappen taking on more responsibility at Red Bull.
Verstappen defied Pierre Wache’s suggestions at the Italian Grand Prix to make a setup change that ultimately won him the race.
His decision-making and racing instincts are some of the best on the grid and match those of Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso despite being more than 10 years younger than both F1 champions.
Position Constructors’ Standings PointsPts 1 678 2 341 3 334 4 331 5 111 6 72 7 69 8 59 9 48 10 20
Mekies previously worked at Ferrari, and while it’s not known whether the Scuderia took this approach while he was with the team, picking up how well it’s working for Hamilton and Charles Leclerc is a genius move.
Hamilton has topped several FP1 sessions this year, highlighting how well Ferrari prepare for a race weekend compared to many of their rivals.
The difference with Red Bull is that the RB21 is now fast enough to sustain that performance and take it into qualifying and the race itself.