Red Bull F1 DOWNFALL posed as former team insider speaks out

Red Bull

Red Bull DOWNFALL posed as former team insider speaks out

Red Bull placed third in the constructors' championship in 2024

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Friday 21 February 2025 19:54

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Former Formula 1 driver Gerhard Berger has spoken out about Red Bull’s downfall, following their third-place finish in the constructors’ championship in 2024.

The Austrian became Red Bull’s first sponsored athlete back in 1989, and was even a co-owner of the Toro Rosso sister team - now Racing Bulls - before selling his shares back to Red Bull in 2008.

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Since then, Red Bull have gone on to achieve six constructors’ titles and eight drivers' championships, won by Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen.

Whilst Verstappen secured his fourth consecutive world title in 2024, it was not enough to lift Red Bull in the constructors’ standings, with the team hoping to reclaim this trophy in 2025.

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Max Verstappen lifted the drivers' trophy in 2024

To celebrate Verstappen’s fourth championship, click here to pre-order the official champion cap, as worn by the Red Bull driver following his championship-winning drive in Las Vegas.

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However, a comeback may not be likely according to Berger, who, when asked by Auto Motor und Sport about their decline, looked to a lack of leadership, pointing to Sergio Perez’s exit as an example.

"It is often the beginning of the end when such issues are raised," Berger said. "Formula 1 is so complex and so competitive that you can only be successful if everyone in the team pulls together, if everyone agrees and communicates well with each other.

"The Red Bull brand has always radiated happiness and a cool image. Suddenly everything has changed.

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"Completely untypical for the team, there are no clear statements anymore. Let's take Perez as an example.

"It was clear that he was no longer performing as well as he should. No one in the professional world understood why he was still being given a contract.

"There may have been reasons, such as marketing constraints or the contractual situation. But when things didn't improve after that, they gave him three more races and then two more and avoided making a decision.

"I couldn't see any clear line there. In Mateschitz's time, Red Bull was always famous for clarity."