Red Bull sees 'big indication' of performance gains with Miami upgrades

Red Bull Racing showed clear signs of performance progress with its Miami Grand Prix upgrades, significantly cutting its qualifying deficit to pole position, though tyre degradation issues ultimately prevented a first podium of the season. Team principal Laurent Mekies pointed to the reduced gap as a "big indication" of the team's development push, while also moving to quell speculation he sparked about a key engineer's future.

Why it matters:

After a difficult start to the 2025 season, any sign of tangible progress is critical for Red Bull's morale and competitive trajectory. Closing the qualifying gap by several tenths demonstrates their development path is working, which is essential to eventually converting potential into race results and challenging for top-three finishes again.

The details:

• Team principal Laurent Mekies highlighted a definitive step forward, noting the qualifying gap to pole was slashed from over a second in Japan and China to just 0.6 seconds on Friday and under 0.2 seconds on Saturday in Miami.
• The upgrade package included an innovative version of the ‘Macarena’ rear wing, which uses a different activation concept compared to Ferrari's design.
• Max Verstappen's race showcased both the promise and remaining weakness: he fought for the podium after a first-lap spin but fell back late due to heavier tyre degradation compared to rivals Oscar Piastri and George Russell.
• Mekies emphasized the team is working on two fronts: the normal development race and solving specific car issues that were costing lap time.

What's next:

The focus for Red Bull shifts to sustaining this development momentum and translating single-lap gains into consistent race-long performance, particularly on tyre management.

• Mekies also addressed the off-track storyline he initiated, downplaying his prior comments about engineer Gianpiero Lambiase's future and confirming he and McLaren's Zak Brown have settled the matter privately to focus on their own teams.
• The team will look to confirm its progress at the next rounds, aiming to finally break onto the podium.