F1 star Max Verstappen BOOSTED by exciting Red Bull development update

Red Bull

Verstappen BOOSTED by exciting Red Bull development update

It could aid Verstappen's chances of further titles

Simmey Hannifin Donaldson Chief Editor

Saturday 4 January 2025 17:00

Max Verstappen has been boosted in his bid to stay ahead of his Formula 1 rivals, with 2024 providing a sharp wake-up call.

The Dutchman still managed to wrap up a fourth consecutive drivers' title, but found himself in arguably the third fastest car on the grid by the end of the season.

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The Dutchman now sits amongst some of the greatest names to have ever driven an F1 car, with just five other drivers having achieved four or more titles during their career.

These are Sebastian Vettel and Alain Prost with four championships, Juan Manuel Fangio with five, and Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher with seven each.

Max Verstappen won his fourth world championship in 2024

Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton have won seven drivers' championships

Max Verstappen gets Red Bull boost

That is certainly something that has been boosted by an exciting revelation to come out of Red Bull, too, with the team claiming that they are ahead of schedule when it comes to introducing their new wind tunnel.

"With the building work and afterwards all the new machines you never know when it's coming, but we are ahead of the schedule at the moment," Red Bull technical director Pierre Wache told motorsport.com.

"We are three months ahead of the plans.

"The guys are doing a very good job, but you never know if you get any delays somewhere else. It is a big project."

Red Bull's current wind tunnel facilities are said to be outdated compared to their rivals, but their new machinery will now be ready to help with their 2027 car, if not the latter stages of their 2026 machine, according to Wache.

"It is the oldest wind tunnel in the sport. I even discussed it with Jos [Verstappen] the other day, that they already used this tunnel when he was there at Arrows," the Red Bull chief added.

"It is an old tool that we updated. There is plenty of newer stuff inside, but we have some limitations. We know those limitations and we try to work around them, but that is clearly more difficult when you are looking for a small delta.

"It is why we invest in the new tunnel. We think we can have a benefit from the new one that we don't have with the current model."

Red Bull Max Verstappen Lewis Hamilton Mercedes Formula 1 Sebastian Vettel