2025 Oracle Red Bull Racing F1 Team

[Gillian]

Same can be said about the RB16B, RB18 was a standout.

I disagree with RB18 being a standout. I thought it was quite an average car, flattered by lack of competition. Mercedes was nowhere and struggled badly with bounching and Ferrari got shot in the foot by the technical directive, as well as Ferrari being Ferrari strategically, and Leclerc making some errors. The RB18 always was a diamond in the rough; good foundation but lacking refinement. Probably because of RB16B. It was an overweight understeering monster. Still remember it being a cruise ship that year in Imola. It was laughable.

I doubt an "RB18" kind of car will cut it against Mercedes and Mclaren in 2026.

The RB18 was an excellent car by every means. The car was absolutely dominant in Imola, not sure what you mean by cruise ship. The race pace of that car was absolutely insane. It won 17 races lol. Ferrari were already outdeveloped by Red Bull before the TD. The TD killed Ferrari from fighting for more wins but only Red Bull nailed the regulations spot on.

If Mercedes and Ferrari couldn't understand the regulations, that simply means Red Bull did a fantastic job in a complex rule set.


There is no reason to believe Mercedes will be better than others in chassis design next year. McLaren I have very good reason to believe but what did Mercedes show? They were ahead of Red Bull last year and couldn't even stay ahead. Red Bull effectively out developed them and Ferrari after being behind on the chassis side of things with teh RB20. I think McLaren will be the team to beat as long as Mercedes engine isn't too bad.

I kinda agree on your point that there was a lack of competition in 22 but I feel like you underappreciate the Ferarri pre-TD. Ferrari and RB where on par, possibly Ferrari a bit faster even. The TD just completely destroyed the car.

[Wouter]

23 dec 2025
Four-time Formula 1 World Champion Max Verstappen returns to the Talking Bull podcast, powered by ‪@AvaTradeTV‬,
to look back at the 2025 season, look ahead to a 2026 campaign full of change, and more!

00:00 Intro
01:14 Who pays the drivers' dinner?
03:04 Reflecting on F1 2025
07:02 The People's Champion
08:50 What happened after Abu Dhabi?
10:42 Team-mates with Isack for 2026
11:51 Max x GT3s
13:54 Balancing his commitments
16:35 Advice to his younger self
18:43 "Ask a stupid question..."
19:04 Answering Your Questions
23:27 Hearing the 2026 engine
25:10 Max's End-of-season message

[pantherxxx]

Mclaren will be nowhere. Because as a customer team, they can't use their own program code to coordinate the ERS and the active aero deployment. In 2026 regs it's a huge disadvantage to be a customer team. They have to design their whole car around whatever Mercedes gives them. Which is a big disadvantage.

So for Red Bull the biggest rival and the team to beat will be Mercedes. I just don't fear them that much. They couldn't figure out their own car in the whole ground effect era. Their aero team is not that good. And Red Bull still has top aero team, and they always react well to regulation changes. Just remember that super complex floor from the RB18. It was lightyears ahead of everyone, and Newey didn't design that. It was the excellent aero team led by Enrico Balbo.

From RB20 onwards there was a huge correlation issue, which prevented development. But Wache said that the old wind tunnel that Red Bull is using works well at the start of a reg change. Only when they're pushing the absolute limits at the end of a regulation era these correlation issues happen. Without those issues Red Bull is unbeatable.

[organic]

Mclaren will be nowhere. Because as a customer team, they can't use their own program code to coordinate the ERS and the active aero deployment. In 2026 regs it's a huge disadvantage to be a customer team. They have to design their whole car around whatever Mercedes gives them. Which is a big disadvantage.

So for Red Bull the biggest rival and the team to beat will be Mercedes. I just don't fear them that much. They couldn't figure out their own car in the whole ground effect era. Their aero team is not that good. And Red Bull still has top aero team, and they always react well to regulation changes. Just remember that super complex floor from the RB18. It was lightyears ahead of everyone, and Newey didn't design that. It was the excellent aero team led by Enrico Balbo.

From RB20 onwards there was a huge correlation issue, which prevented development. But Wache said that the old wind tunnel that Red Bull is using works well at the start of a reg change. Only when they're pushing the absolute limits at the end of a regulation era these correlation issues happen. Without those issues Red Bull is unbeatable.

I believe mclaren negotiated themselves a seat at the decision-making table than a usual customer team is given (eg williams) because of their closer connection to mercedes & higher ambitions. I don't think they're in a situation where they're 100% just building around what Merc gives them. Better than a normal customer but nowhere near full works.

[FittingMechanics]

"program code to coordinate ERS and the active aero deployment"?

What is that supposed to mean?

[lio007]

Mclaren will be nowhere. Because as a customer team, they can't use their own program code to coordinate the ERS and the active aero deployment. In 2026 regs it's a huge disadvantage to be a customer team. They have to design their whole car around whatever Mercedes gives them. Which is a big disadvantage.

So for Red Bull the biggest rival and the team to beat will be Mercedes. I just don't fear them that much. They couldn't figure out their own car in the whole ground effect era. Their aero team is not that good. And Red Bull still has top aero team, and they always react well to regulation changes. Just remember that super complex floor from the RB18. It was lightyears ahead of everyone, and Newey didn't design that. It was the excellent aero team led by Enrico Balbo.

From RB20 onwards there was a huge correlation issue, which prevented development. But Wache said that the old wind tunnel that Red Bull is using works well at the start of a reg change. Only when they're pushing the absolute limits at the end of a regulation era these correlation issues happen. Without those issues Red Bull is unbeatable.

I believe mclaren negotiated themselves a seat at the decision-making table than a usual customer team is given (eg williams) because of their closer connection to mercedes & higher ambitions. I don't think they're in a situation where they're 100% just building around what Merc gives them. Better than a normal customer but nowhere near full works.

I'm wondering if Toto regrets the McLaren PU deal. Back in the day McLaren was nowhere and Mercedes had nothing to fear, but that has changed drastically.
... but that's a bit off topic

[Emag]

"program code to coordinate ERS and the active aero deployment"?

What is that supposed to mean?

Total BS lol. No idea where he pulled that from. Also, power units are not lego pieces that only fit to a certain car. It’s not as simple as they make it out to be. Would be silly to call the pecking order before we see a single lap driven.

[pantherxxx]

"program code to coordinate ERS and the active aero deployment"?

What is that supposed to mean?

Total BS lol. No idea where he pulled that from. Also, power units are not lego pieces that only fit to a certain car. It’s not as simple as they make it out to be. Would be silly to call the pecking order before we see a single lap driven.

You're right that an F1 car isn't made of Legos, but you're missing the systems architecture reality of the 2026 rules.

In 2026, the car becomes a unified system. The active aero (front and rear wings moving between "X-mode" and "Z-mode") must happen in perfect sync with the ERS deployment (the 350kW electric boost).

Mercedes HPP (the engine side) writes the code that governs how the battery delivers power. McLaren receives a "compiled" version of this code. They can change settings (like turning a dial), but they cannot rewrite the underlying logic.

If McLaren’s aero philosophy requires the wing to stall at a specific millisecond to save battery, but the Mercedes engine software isn't programmed to "expect" that aero drop at that exact moment, the car becomes unstable or inefficient.

This isn’t internet speculation. It’s straight out of how 2026 is designed:

350 kW ERS = ~50% of lap-time influence

Active aero switching states dynamically

Energy deployment governed by PU supplier software

Customer teams receive calibration access, not source code

That’s standard in F1. No customer team in history has rewritten a supplier’s PU control laws.

Red Bull (with Ford support via Red Bull Powertrains) has zero such constraint: full in-house control means they can tailor the PU software, deployment profiles, and hardware exactly to their chassis/active aero philosophy (and vice versa) for seamless integration. Red Bull absolutely holds the strongest long-term cards for 2026 and beyond when it comes to power unit integration—the exact advantage customer teams like McLaren lack.

[Emag]

"program code to coordinate ERS and the active aero deployment"?

What is that supposed to mean?

Total BS lol. No idea where he pulled that from. Also, power units are not lego pieces that only fit to a certain car. It’s not as simple as they make it out to be. Would be silly to call the pecking order before we see a single lap driven.

You're right that an F1 car isn't made of Legos, but you're missing the systems architecture reality of the 2026 rules.

In 2026, the car becomes a unified system. The active aero (front and rear wings moving between "X-mode" and "Z-mode") must happen in perfect sync with the ERS deployment (the 350kW electric boost).

Mercedes HPP (the engine side) writes the code that governs how the battery delivers power. McLaren receives a "compiled" version of this code. They can change settings (like turning a dial), but they cannot rewrite the underlying logic.

If McLaren’s aero philosophy requires the wing to stall at a specific millisecond to save battery, but the Mercedes engine software isn't programmed to "expect" that aero drop at that exact moment, the car becomes unstable or inefficient.

This isn’t internet speculation. It’s straight out of how 2026 is designed:

350 kW ERS = ~50% of lap-time influence

Active aero switching states dynamically

Energy deployment governed by PU supplier software

Customer teams receive calibration access, not source code

That’s standard in F1. No customer team in history has rewritten a supplier’s PU control laws.

Red Bull (with Ford support via Red Bull Powertrains) has zero such constraint: full in-house control means they can tailor the PU software, deployment profiles, and hardware exactly to their chassis/active aero philosophy (and vice versa) for seamless integration. Red Bull absolutely holds the strongest long-term cards for 2026 and beyond when it comes to power unit integration—the exact advantage customer teams like McLaren lack.

Brother, with all due respect, you have no idea what you’re talking about. Also if you keep replying with chatgpt slop I am afraid I am going to have to block you altogether.

[Espresso]

Mclaren will be nowhere. Because as a customer team, they can't use their own program code to coordinate the ERS and the active aero deployment….

So as Merc Customer they cannot outbeat the factory team?

[venkyhere]

Mclaren will be nowhere. Because as a customer team, they can't use their own program code to coordinate the ERS and the active aero deployment.

without any knowledge of the ICE+battery+MGUK code architecture and the topological split across firmware/hardware entities, how is it possible to make such a statement ?

[Juzh]

TBH I agree that in the beginning it is an advantage to be a works team with full control over every aspect of the car. As time goes on this advantage becomes smaller and smaller.

[Emag]

TBH I agree that in the beginning it is an advantage to be a works team with full control over every aspect of the car. As time goes on this advantage becomes smaller and smaller.

The advantage lies in the fact that this is a new power unit formula and there will be physical (hardware) changes to the whole unit compared to what we have had up until now. In terms of integration, Mercedes has the advantage there because they're limiting the physical constraints that are "in the way" of the aero concept of their own car, while potentially damaging another customer's platform indirectly by having a physical blueprint that doesn't fit as well with the customer's aero philosophy.

This of course, is not really a guarantee, because for starters, you don't really know that what Mercedes is doing with the chassis is the "best" concept going into this new regulation (they failed 2022 badly for example). And secondly, McLaren (but probably all of their customers to be honest), get the final designs for the physical model early enough where there shouldn't really be any "late surprises" that would cause quick-fixes to the chassis potentially handicapping the entire car. So they have plenty of time to work out the entire concept of the car, factoring in the integration constraints.

This "program code" is just complete BS though, it's totally irrelevant actually. What matters for the customers is that they get a power unit that is exactly the same spec as the manufacturer, which by regulation, they are forced to. This wasn't the case before 2017, which is why Mercedes was so overpowered in the early turbo-hybrid era.

In all honesty, I think the bigger problem for McLaren is the lesser amount of wind tunnel hours they have had to develop the car. In any case, the limitation shouldn't be too severe. It would be normal, or perhaps expected even, that they're behind Mercedes starting the season. However if they're behind by a significant margin that they cannot overcome through in-season development, then that would be because they would have failed with the car's concept and get outdone by Mercedes. Not because they couldn't "put in their own program code" to the engine. Sound so damn ridiculous to even type that out.

[SealTheRealDeal]

"program code to coordinate ERS and the active aero deployment"?

What is that supposed to mean?

Total BS lol. No idea where he pulled that from. Also, power units are not lego pieces that only fit to a certain car. It’s not as simple as they make it out to be. Would be silly to call the pecking order before we see a single lap driven.

You're right that an F1 car isn't made of Legos, but you're missing the systems architecture reality of the 2026 rules.

In 2026, the car becomes a unified system. The active aero (front and rear wings moving between "X-mode" and "Z-mode") must happen in perfect sync with the ERS deployment (the 350kW electric boost).

Mercedes HPP (the engine side) writes the code that governs how the battery delivers power. McLaren receives a "compiled" version of this code. They can change settings (like turning a dial), but they cannot rewrite the underlying logic.

If McLaren’s aero philosophy requires the wing to stall at a specific millisecond to save battery, but the Mercedes engine software isn't programmed to "expect" that aero drop at that exact moment, the car becomes unstable or inefficient.

This isn’t internet speculation. It’s straight out of how 2026 is designed:

350 kW ERS = ~50% of lap-time influence

Active aero switching states dynamically

Energy deployment governed by PU supplier software

Customer teams receive calibration access, not source code

That’s standard in F1. No customer team in history has rewritten a supplier’s PU control laws.

Red Bull (with Ford support via Red Bull Powertrains) has zero such constraint: full in-house control means they can tailor the PU software, deployment profiles, and hardware exactly to their chassis/active aero philosophy (and vice versa) for seamless integration. Red Bull absolutely holds the strongest long-term cards for 2026 and beyond when it comes to power unit integration—the exact advantage customer teams like McLaren lack.

Benetton in 1986.

[FittingMechanics]

Why do people keep using ChatGPT slop to post replies?

If you don't have time to write a post yourself please do us a favor and don't post this AI slop. It is just a confident sounding "story" that AI wrote according to your input, it is not true nor is it smart.

Moderators should give warnings for these posts.