Max Verstappen thinks Red Bull can forget about winning any championship in Formula 1 next year if it does not make good progress with its RB21 car.

While the Dutchman celebrated his fourth consecutive drivers’ title with Red Bull in 2024, he is well aware that success owed much to a dominant start to the campaign that gave him a comfortable buffer in the standings.

And it was the team’s subsequent dip in form that opened the door for McLaren to snatch the constructors’ crown for the first time since 1998.

While Red Bull did rediscover some form in the closing stages of the year, Verstappen acknowledged the competition is now so close that his outfit needs to take a good step forward for 2025.

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Speaking about the prospects for next year in an interview with Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, Verstappen said: “If we continue like this, I won’t be champion next year. It’s as simple as that. We really need to make steps to be competitive next season. We all know that.

“I trust the team that they can fix the balance issues from last season. Certain things that we couldn’t adjust last year will be changed for next year.

“We know that we need to be better over the kerbs, bumps and in the slow corners. Those are generally our weaknesses. If we are still beaten then, it will be based on pure speed.

“I always keep the pressure on, also on myself. I try not to think too lightly about things. At one point the car was barely driveable. There was no more to get out of it than this.”

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Verstappen also revealed in the interview how his own input into the characteristics of the car at the Italian Grand Prix helped steer development of the RB20 back on track following the mid-season wobbles.

“All plans for new parts, which were to come after that [race in Monza], could be thrown into the bin,” he said. “The team actually started from scratch after that. Before that, they couldn’t find the exact problem.

“I saw a couple of graphics when we were looking at the data. I saw certain aerodynamic shifts in how we entered the corners, turned into corners and also in terms of ride heights.

“It was different from last year’s car. I said, ‘Hey, it’s very clear that this and this is the problem, isn’t it?’ That turned out to be right, I heard later on.

“I hadn’t seen those lines and those graphics before. I then said that it was quite clear what we had to work on, because the engineers obviously know exactly what had been changed from last year’s car.

“At the beginning of last season we were still winning our races convincingly, but I felt even then that the balance of the car did not feel the way I wanted it to.

“But, back then, we still had a big lead over the other teams, who might not have had a very good winter.”

Verstappen also had a cheeky dig at rivals, suggesting that some of their success was down to using tricks.

“Things happened in the background that meant we had no chance at all in certain races,” he said. “I know that for sure, but no one will ever admit that.”

Additional reporting by Ronald Vording