Just a few months ago, speculation was rife that Max Verstappen was exploring his options outside of Red Bull as they struggled to adapt to the sport’s new regulations – but now, they’ve become one of the biggest threats on the grid.
After Red Bull lost ground to Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren, the Dutchman was convinced to extend his contract to 2030 and remain with the team that previously helped him secure four Drivers’ Championships.
Their upgrades have seen them take a remarkable step forward, enabling Verstappen to win in Malaysia and Singapore and bring him into contention for a P2 finish in the standings.
The resurgence would’ve been hard to predict at the start of the season – Red Bull scored just 16 points in the opening three rounds – so Jolyon Palmer and Alex Jacques dissected just how impressive the progress has been on the latest episode of official podcast F1 Nation, presented by AWS – Global AI partner of Formula 1.
“I look at the Red Bull with the upgrades and the weaknesses that we used to hear don’t seem to be there,” Palmer said. “They’re good at kerb riding.
“I think Max mentioned the downshifts once in Singapore, because he starts to feel the instability as he’s banging down the gears, but they’ve been able to dial that out for years anyway. Right now, I don’t see a weakness in it.”
Elaborating on Verstappen’s performances, Jacques added: “He had a car that didn’t unlock the entire potential of his difference-making driving ability, which is that super sensitive front end that a hatful of very talented drivers in the second Red Bull car couldn’t live with.
“Ironically, it’s an update at the rear of the car that’s unlocked the overall balance. And now suddenly you have Max with total confidence, with the machine that is working entirely to his liking.
“He’s finished a tenth away in Baku, he’s rattled off everything he can win since, and [has] super high confidence for a driver who was mulling whether it was worth staying with the team in recent times.”
Red Bull’s transformation could be compared to the one that McLaren enjoyed en route to their title-winning seasons in 2024 and 2025, but Palmer argued that the Milton Keynes-based outfit have overcome even greater obstacles.
“When you look at the whole picture here, the uptrend for Red Bull is massive,” the former Renault F1 driver explained. “We’ve spoken for years about McLaren’s turnaround in form a couple of years ago. It was huge when Lando [Norris] came from being nowhere, to suddenly we were thinking, ‘can he fight for a championship?’ before he did.
“But I think this Red Bull turnaround in form might be on paper, when you look at the percentage difference, I think it’s got to be the biggest, if they can cement it through these final races. After six races, he was 113 points behind Kimi Antonelli. In the 11 races since, he’s lost six points to Kimi. If you started the championship after Monaco, Max will be champion.
“That’s the incredible form that he showed when he didn’t have the fastest car and now he does. He’s formidable and I think he’s got everyone else almost fearing the battle with him. There’s almost a sense of resignation when you take on Max from the rest of the field.”
Verstappen’s commitment to Red Bull was partly influenced by his strong relationship with Team Principal Laurent Mekies, who recently signed a contract extension that lasts through the 2031 season.
Reflecting on the Frenchman’s leadership, Palmer said: “I think he’s been remarkable. What a hire to replace such a big character as Christian Horner. It felt like it was a poisoned chalice when he took over because the ship was sinking, wasn’t it?
“It seemed like things were looking difficult. They throw Laurent into the mix and you think, ‘oh, he has got a big job, some high-profile names going, Max disgruntled, team falling away…’
“But he managed to galvanise them so well last season and even this year sort of just trying to get the ball moving again. And he’s managed to keep the team with the full focus on winning races this season, when it could have really spiralled out of control early on. So I think Laurent has done a superb job and, looking forward to next year, you’ve got stability there.
“The powertrains department, what a superb job they’ve done. You don’t even need to give Max the best car for him to be champion, I don’t think. If he has a fighting chance, I think he’ll start the [2027] season as favourite and the way that the team galvanised behind him – Isack Hadjar, we’re not going to be thinking he can be champion – and I think that probably does help Max.
“The single-mindedness that Red Bull still have, post-Christian Horner, with Laurent coming in the team, gelling immediately with Max, I think that is still a key thing for the Drivers’ Championship.”
“I think what’s interesting about Laurent is, I remember when he gave his first remarks, that the first thing he said to the personnel there was ‘what a race team this is’,” Jacques summarised. “He almost had to remind them of their capabilities and their stature in the sport as one of the most successful teams in recent times.
“So there was an element of the psychology of where that team was. All the headlines had been negative for a really long time. Then he had to make sure that the people that were replacing the big characters were up to it – they’ve all done very well.
“Then he had to make sure that Verstappen committed long-term, because if there was a brain drain before, the moment Max walks out on that team would have been an exodus. He did all of those. He thoroughly deserves his contract extension.”
Red Bull and Verstappen’s momentum was just one of the talking points that emerged in the United States Grand Prix preview, which saw Palmer and Jacques join F1 Nation host Tom Clarkson.
To hear the full episode, hit go on the audio player above or click here to listen to the latest episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
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