Red Bull appears to have made a critical leap forward in its championship fight — and at exactly the right moment to keep Max Verstappen's title hopes alive.
Heading into Imola, both Verstappen and the team were feeling the pressure after McLaren's dominant showing in Miami. Even Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko and Jos Verstappen called the Imola update package a last-ditch effort to revive the 2025 campaign.
"We brought several new parts here," a clearly satisfied Marko said after Verstappen's pole-to-flag win on Sunday. The result cut his championship deficit to just 22 points.
"I think we were even better than McLaren," he added. "We were simply faster.
"This is the first time in a year that the upgrades have had a positive effect on the car. I am happy and we are going to Monaco next week with a lot of confidence."
While the Imola layout suited Red Bull's strengths, Monaco may pose a different challenge. Still, Marko pointed to major progress in an area that had become a clear weakness — tyre degradation, especially relative to McLaren.
"We were at least as good as them when it comes to tyre wear," he noted. "This is the first time in a long time that the balance of the car was good enough to let Max do what he wants.
"Thank God we got to see such a result."
Earlier this year, and even before, the team was plagued by a mismatch between wind tunnel data and real-world performance.
"We are starting to understand that better now," team principal Christian Horner said.
"We brought so many new parts to this race and that turned out to be a huge factor."
After months of scrutiny since Adrian Newey's impending departure was announced, technical director Pierre Wache made a rare post-race media appearance to speak on the progress.
"I think so," Wache said when asked if Imola marked a breakthrough.
"The upgrades have clearly benefited us, also in terms of how we can manage the tyres. We were able to take a first step in Miami, and now we have taken a second step.
"We have improved our setup enormously, and the new package also gives more opportunities to improve further."
While Red Bull surged, nearly every top team introduced updates at Imola. But McLaren team principal Andrea Stella admitted they may now be playing catch-up.
"With the updates from Red Bull, we have to be on our guard," said Stella. "Red Bull brought new things to this race and will bring them to the next one, so we can't wait around. But it will take a few more races to achieve significant new features."
Wache agreed: "McLaren still has a very good car, which they are also still developing. We have to keep pushing hard."
As for Verstappen, who had hinted at uncertainty around his Red Bull future post-2025, Sunday's result offered a welcome change of mood.
Speaking with Viaplay, he said: "I think it's important to remain calm for the moment, and not to start shouting too much right away."
His biggest concern lately had been McLaren's superior tyre management — a weakness that definitely seemed to improve at Imola.
"My tyres were still going (degrading)," said the Dutchman, "but it was a bit better than most others around us."
