Verstappen: Red Bull car issues more important than driver changes

Max Verstappen emphasizes that Red Bull needs to focus more on fixing their 2025 car issues — not on teammate changes.

Following the decision to swap Liam Lawson to Racing Bulls and replace him with Yuki Tsunoda ahead of Japanese GP, Verstappen responded to former F1 driver Giedo van der Garde’s criticism that called the policy “bullying”.

“I liked the text, so I guess that speaks for itself, right? It was not a mistake,” said Verstappen. “My reaction was shared with the team, but in general. Not only the swap, but about everything.”

The four-time world champion stressed that Red Bull’s main issue currently is the suboptimal performance of the RB21 — experiencing instability in various corner phases with problems varying depending on speed, track surface, tires, and bumps.

Despite currently sitting second in the standings after finishing second in a rain-affected Australian GP and fourth in China, Verstappen admits McLaren remains ahead and will be difficult to catch even as his team continues to work on improving car performance.