Those who arrive at the Monaco Circuit for the F1 GP are soon impressed by the largest VIP space of a team mounted on floating structure in the Mediterranean Sea and in front of the Paddock: the so -called “Energy Station” is where Red Bull and Racing Bulls drivers go between training and running, as well as receiving guests from team sponsors. It is the only squad with this perm in the traditional Monte Carlo circuit.
The ostentation in the most luxurious GP of the year is a common scene in recent years in Monaco, but in 2025 contrasts with the worst lived f1 moment since the team became the team to be beaten in F1. And it is precisely on the Monte Carlo circuit where Red Bull intends to show Max Verstappen that it can still give it enough car to fight for its fifth consecutive world world title.
In Imola, the team completed 400 GPS in history as best as possible – seeing the race after a very bold maneuver of Verstappen to overcome McLaren’s pole position Pistri, still in a duel in the first Chicane of the Italian circuit.
The team brought improvements to the car for this beginning of the European season, in an attempt to curb McLaren’s favoritism. In 2024, Red Bull even lost the world title of builders precisely because it could not make its two cars perform competitively.
A series of pilot exchanges marked Red Bull’s second cockpit. In the last eight races, three took this place: Sergio Perez was fired at the end of last year. The poor performance of the substitute, New Zealander Liam Lawson, yielded a new exchange, this time for Yuki Tsunoda. The Japanese has been able to walk among the top ten, but still in performance far below expected compared to Verstappen.
In Monaco, the Sheet He learned that this GP begins the “last call” of Verstappen so that Red Bull shows its credentials to fight for the world title in 2025 and especially for the coming seasons. The F1 will have a large regulation revolution from 2026, with new engines, new car concept and possibly a new hierarchy of competitiveness among the teams.
The story of fairy tale between Verstappen and Red Bull is old. Dutch father Jos Verstappen had the option to sign with Mercedes when his son was only 15 years old. But Red Bull offered something that the German team could not guarantee: a car at F1 for Max at 16, hitting the younger pilot record in the history of the category.
With that, he debuted in the then Toro Rosso, subsidiary team of Red Bull, and, going the same way as another four -time champion formed by the team, Sebastian Vettel, Verstappen ended up migrating to the main team and winning his debut in Spain, in the 2016 GP, ironically because of a crash of the top two places, then the mercies, Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton.
The straight titles seemed to start a long supremacy, but the death of Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz in late 2022 made a fight for the team to take over behind the scenes. His death was sudden and he did not leave a succession prepared, so this vacuum of power disrupted the team and caused Red Bull’s talent escape, revealed a source heard by Sheet in Monaco.
Some say that the scandals involving team leader Christian Horner last year – a possible case of harassment within the team – would be linked to this command dispute, which includes current Red Bull members (and children of the founders), the 51%Thai Chaleo Yoovidhya, and 49%.
In the sports part, former Red Bull pilot and advisor, Helmut Marko, is the great ally of Jos and Max Verstappen in the struggle for the team’s sports command-and both have already given indications that can also leave the team if one of the parts is turned off.
With Verstappen’s countdown starting this weekend in Monaco, the team is under pressure to present results and also show potential in the 2026 car. The Dutchman has a contract with Red Bull until 2029, but can look for new air. Mercedes and Aston Martin dispute Max, the latter even brought the clipboard wizard, Adrian Newey, to the team (he is in Monaco wearing the new Aston Martin uniform).
Max does not reveal his future, but knows that he will have open doors in all teams, especially with the great performance he has been showing in 2025. Red Bull, which started as the “fun team” of the grid, after buying Jaguar (former Smwart) in 2004, eventually became the dominator in 2010, thanks to Vettel’s titles and now, from Verstappen-who add eight pilots.
With 400 GPS played, Red Bull is only behind the three most traditional (Ferrari, McLaren and Williams) and has a dispute for fourth place, but the Swiss team considers the years like Alfa Romeo and BMW as a single structure, which would give 600 GPS.
Of the teams that are no longer competing, only the traditional Lotus, which gave Emerson Fittipaldi’s first world title and the first victory for Ayrton Senna in F1, is ahead of Red Bull with 606 GPS. But the team has a curriculum of much more victories and titles, in a proportion even higher than those of Ferrari and McLaren, for example.
It remains to be seen what the future will look like from 2026, when the team will use Ford engines (with the current structure that is baptized by Honda) and will have to prove that it will be able to survive with or without Verstappen.
