Max Verstappen has voiced a huge concern over Red Bull’s performance for the 2025 Formula 1 season-opener at the Australian Grand Prix.
The Milton Keynes outfit were faced with a drop to third place in the constructors’ championship in 2024, after McLaren and Ferrari emerged as their competitors at the front of the field.
F1 HEADLINES: Hamilton makes RETIREMENT admission as Ferrari star announces NEW chapter
READ MORE: Verstappen BAN could offer Ricciardo shock F1 return
Following three days of pre-season testing in Bahrain, McLaren appear to hold the advantage heading into the 2025 season, with Ferrari and Mercedes also looking impressive.
However, Red Bull had a trickier three days in Sakhir, with Liam Lawson’s full day of running on Thursday interrupted by the rain and then a loss of engine water pressure that saw him return to the garage.

Will Red Bull be competitive in 2025?
Verstappen has since revealed his concern ahead of F1’s season-opener in Australia, and claimed the team still has work to do whilst also arguing Red Bull would ‘not be fastest’ in Melbourne.
"There were a few small issues, but overall we completed a lot of what we wanted to do," Verstappen said in a Red Bull press release after pre-season testing.
"I think it was not bad, but at the same time there is still some work to do. We probably won’t be the fastest in Melbourne."
READ MORE: Aston Martin make official Lance Stroll replacement decision as health update issued

Red Bull’s technical director Pierre Wache also echoed Verstappen’s sentiments, but offered a ray of positivity and claimed the team were heading in the right direction after testing.
"It wasn’t as smooth a test as we and the team expected, but it’s better to find problems here," added Wache.
"That’s why we test, we want to understand the car better. I’m not as happy as I could be, because sometimes the car didn’t respond as we wanted.
"Nevertheless, it’s going in the right direction, although maybe we didn’t expect such problems with this new design. That’s something we need to work on for our future development."
READ MORE: FIA race descends into chaos for Aston Martin after door FALLS OFF


