Red Bull didn’t just trim drag at Monza; they trimmed the championship narrative, too.
Over a handful of races, Max Verstappen has muscled his way back into the title conversation many thought belonged to McLaren. Yes, a few rivals have been off-key. But the bigger story is how Red Bull’s trackside group has finally made the RB21 sing — capitalising on updates, reading the circuits, and not being afraid to do something a little weird if it unlocks lap time.
Monza was the hinge. Red Bull showed up with a no-nonsense, low-drag package and literally took a hacksaw to the trailing edge of the lower-downforce rear wing on Verstappen’s car, shaving off resistance to squeeze out just that bit more on the straights. The result: clean air, clean win, and a reminder that if you give Max a package that breathes on the straights, he doesn’t wait around to debate it.
Conventional wisdom said Baku would swing back to McLaren. Red Bull didn’t follow conventional wisdom. While plenty of teams obsessed over top speed and DRS efficiency for Azerbaijan, Red Bull chased balance — specifically, the finicky, technical middle sector where confidence and rotation are worth more than a couple of kilometres per hour. The tyre menu helped: Pirelli rolled out its softest range (C4/C5/C6), which rewards a car that switches on fronts quickly and carries grip through the tight stuff.
Red Bull rolled back the Monza trickery at the rear for Baku, reverting to the usual low-drag wing spec and even adding a Gurney flap to nudge the balance where Verstappen wanted it. The real intrigue was up front. Verstappen ran a left-field front wing and nose configuration that the team has sprinkled into the pool over the last few rounds, while Yuki Tsunoda stuck with a more regular layout.
Max’s RB21 carried the wider, more bulbous nose paired with an L-shaped outboard flap section the team first unleashed at Zandvoort. It’s a quirky geometry that sculpts the front wing’s pressure distribution differently, guiding front-end flow downstream in a way that seems to settle the car on corner entry without dulling its response. On top of that, Red Bull altered the flap’s chord height across the span and brought back a narrower, more pronounced humped central section that had previously appeared at Imola. The net effect: a front end that bites, then breathes — a combination Verstappen thrives on when the walls feel close and the apexes come at you fast.
This is Red Bull’s old magic resurfacing in a new ruleset: micro-solutions tailored to the circuit, and the confidence to split specs between cars to chase the window. Tsunoda’s choice to stay conventional isn’t a knock; it’s a tell that the team’s exploring two viable paths while keeping a baseline that’s predictable and points-safe. But the aggressive option on Verstappen’s side keeps paying off.
The aerodynamic shifts also hint at a team that’s moved past the early-season head-scratching. Where the RB21 once felt like a car with a narrow sweet spot, it’s now generating performance through a wider range of ride heights and aero balances. Monza demanded top speed and discipline; Baku demanded rotation and stability over the bumps — two very different animals, both tamed with targeted changes rather than wholesale redesigns.
Zoom out and you see why the standings talk has changed tone. Verstappen’s recent form isn’t just about outright pace; it’s about how often Red Bull is getting him onto the right setup earlier in a weekend, letting him attack qualifying and control strategy. When they land the balance on Friday, Sunday tends to sort itself out. And recently, they’ve been landing it.
There’s still plenty of runway left in this title fight, and McLaren’s raw package remains a menace in clean air. But Red Bull has reintroduced uncertainty, and that’s half the battle at this stage of the season. If the RB21 keeps bending to circuit demands the way it has since Monza — and if Verstappen keeps converting those subtle aero nudges into confidence at the wheel — the math starts to get uncomfortable for everyone else.
Left-field? Maybe. Effective? Monza says yes. Baku says yes. And Verstappen, now firmly back in the championship chat, doesn’t need to say anything at all. His lap times are doing the talking.
