Max Verstappen has admitted that he won’t be setting targets for the 2025 Formula 1 season until he has had a chance to assess the competitiveness of Red Bull’s RB21 car.
Verstappen enters the upcoming campaign billed as the man to beat having won the last four Drivers’ Championships, including all three since the latest regulation change.
However, the Dutchman encountered his toughest challenge last season as he had to contend with a decline in Red Bull’s pace coinciding with turmoil behind the scenes.
But while that combination cost the team the Constructors’ title, Verstappen rose above Red Bull’s problems to retain the crown with two races to spare in Las Vegas.
Red Bull, though, is under no illusion that it must address the balance troubles that plagued the RB20 to provide Verstappen with a championship-contending package.
With speculation surrounding his F1 future, Verstappen, who is contracted to Red Bull until 2028, has expressed that he is hoping to experience much less upheaval in 2025.
“Last year has been challenging at times,” Verstappen told ESPN. “Of course, we had a lot of good moments, of course, also some tough moments, and I hope that we can be, let’s say, a little bit more stable and a little bit more all-round throughout the season.”
Verstappen ‘excited’ to work with Lawson at Red Bull
Verstappen will have a new team-mate in the opposite garage this season as Sergio Perez’s nightmare 2024 season has seen Liam Lawson promoted as his replacement.
“What I’m looking forward to the most is just to see how competitive we are,” he added.
“Of course, as you said, new team-mate in Liam. I’m excited to be working with him as well, and I think the whole team is excited to, yeah, look ahead to this season.”
Verstappen’s mindset ‘unchanged’
Verstappen is gunning to make it five consecutive titles in 2025, an achievement that hasn’t been repeated since the great Michael Schumacher from 2000 to 2004.
However, Verstappen, who has insisted that he isn’t interested in records, has said that he isn’t thinking about the championship until he has sampled Red Bull’s new machine.
“Honestly, my mindset hasn’t really changed,” he proclaimed. “Of course, winning four titles has been a dream, more than a dream, I would say. I’m relaxed.
“I’m just looking forward, of course, to see how competitive we can be.
“And from there onwards also, once you realise a bit how competitive you are, you set a bit of a target, but that’s too early to say at the moment.”
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