Beginning of end of Red Bull Racing as a Formula 1 powerhouse?

The team has lost nearly all the architects of its dominant era. Rob Marshall, Jonathan Wheatley, Adrian Newey and most recently Christian Horner are all gone, leaving only Verstappen from the core that delivered multiple world championships for Red Bull.

The instability has been compounded by a string of failed attempts to find a reliable number two driver. Sergio Perez was ousted for being “not good enough,” only for Red Bull to discover how costly his absence would be. Liam Lawson was fired before establishing himself, while Yuki Tsunoda has floundered in the second seat.

With unproven Laurent Mekies now in charge after Horner’s dismissal, the team is unrecognisable. For former Grand Prix winner Riccardo Patrese, Red Bull’s glory days are over.

Patrese was blunt in his assessment; he said: “I think that Red Bull is off. They cannot come back. Why should they? From my point of view, they don’t come back. If they don’t have the right person, any team can drop away, and they cannot go to the top.”

He drew comparisons with Ferrari’s decline after the Schumacher era; adding: “When Ferrari had Michael Schumacher, Ross Brawn, Rory Byrne and Jean Todt, that was making the difference. They were at the top. When these people disappeared, they were still saying, ‘Let’s hope next year, let’s hope next year.’

"But they never came back because even when Raikkonen won the title in 2007, the car was in decline. Other teams developed better cars, and they never came back. If you look at all the teams, even Williams, when the good people disappear, they still exist but are not winning.”

Patrese believes Red Bull is now on the same trajectory and claimed: “I think Red Bull is going to be like this. No more Horner, Newey, Wheatley, so at the end of the day, they are going backwards.

"Maybe next year they will survive because they have Verstappen, maybe with one win, then a podium, then another podium, then a fifth place. But then, when Max leaves, forget it," he predicted.

Next year, Ford will enter the spotlight as Red Bull Racing's engine partners. The two organisations have forged a strategic technical partnership, announced in 2023, to develop a next-generation hybrid power unit for F1’s 2026 season, aligning with new regulations emphasising sustainable fuels and increased electrical power.

Ford, returning after a two-decade hiatus, contributes expertise in battery technology, electric motors, and software analytics, complementing Red Bull Powertrains’ engine development. This collaboration, extending to 2030, aims to power both Red Bull Racing and Racing Bulls teams.

On the constant search for Verstappen’s teammate, Patrese suggested Red Bull already has a solution within its junior ranks.

“They have Hadjar, who I think is not bad," he pointed out. "So, they could replace Tsunoda with Hadjar, who is already in their team.

"Tsunoda hasn’t done anything special this year. So, in the end, you can have Yuki or another rookie. I would pick up Hadjar, because it looks to me that he’s not so bad.”

For Patrese, Red Bull’s problem is structural, not just about drivers. Without its legendary leadership core, he believes the team’s decline is inevitable, and that only Verstappen’s brilliance is holding the façade together.

With 14 Rounds run, Red Bull lie P4 in the 2025 F1 Constructors' Standings with 194 points; 187 of which were scored by Verstappen, who lies P3 in the F1 Drivers' standings with ten rounds remaining. The next race is his home Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort.