Red Bull has begun closely monitoring their Formula 1 rivals even before the 2025 season officially starts. Christian Horner’s team is prepared to leave no stone unturned in their quest for any competitive edge in their fierce battle with McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes.
In the 2024 season, Red Bull’s primary target for scrutiny was McLaren. The Milton Keynes-based squad had a strong start to the season but ended up trailing McLaren by 77 points in third place. Red Bull made complaints about McLaren’s ‘mini DRS’ rear wing after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, a race won by McLaren’s Oscar Piastri. Following discussions with the FIA, McLaren agreed to alter the design of their rear wing.
Despite this, Red Bull’s technical director, Pierre Wache, has stated that McLaren continues to use a similar design for the 2025 season, despite the FIA’s efforts to tighten the rules. Additionally, Red Bull was dissatisfied with McLaren’s front wing, leading to stricter regulations from the FIA, particularly from the Spanish Grand Prix onwards. The new tests aim to prevent teams from exploiting flexibility rules related to their car components.
The accusations against McLaren weren’t isolated, as they were also directed at Red Bull. McLaren drew attention to Red Bull’s front-bib device at the United States Grand Prix, prompting an investigation. FIA officials later clarified that no driver had the ability to adjust the ride height from the cockpit, which would have been illegal under the rules.
As the 2025 Formula 1 campaign approaches, Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton have also come under scrutiny from Red Bull. According to a report from the Italian outlet FUnoAnalisiTecnica, Red Bull has prepared an official complaint regarding McLaren and Ferrari’s rear wings, claiming that both teams may be violating the technical regulations. As a result, FIA representatives are expected to visit both Ferrari’s Maranello headquarters and McLaren’s Woking base ahead of the Australian Grand Prix to conduct stringent checks on the cars of Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piastri, and Lando Norris.
While Ferrari remains unfazed by the accusations, the Scuderia rejects the allegations from Red Bull, expressing confidence that they will not face significant issues from the investigation.
As we approach the 2025 F1 season, it’s shaping up to be one of the most competitive and high-performance seasons in recent memory. Every minor gain, even those made off-track, could have a significant impact on the outcome of the championship.
There’s currently some uncertainty surrounding Ferrari’s position within the sport, with many paddock insiders placing them fourth in the current pecking order, although positions two through four seem to be highly interchangeable. Much of the skepticism regarding Ferrari may stem from a chaotic final day of testing, during which they experienced off-track excursions and an early stoppage. However, there were also clear signs of progress, especially on day two.
Onboard video footage of Lewis Hamilton driving Ferrari’s SF-25 revealed that he appeared more at ease in the Ferrari compared to his previous experiences with Mercedes. This suggests that Ferrari may have found the right setup during that test session. Moreover, data has shown that the Briton was using a similar technique to Charles Leclerc when entering corners, specifically in terms of throttle and brake overlap. This suggests that Hamilton has likely studied Charles Leclerc’s telemetry in an effort to adapt to the unique handling characteristics of the SF-25.
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