The Azerbaijan Grand Prix has firmly established the Red Bull RB21’s return to form, with Max Verstappen achieving his second consecutive victory following his remarkable success at Monza two weeks prior.
Both racing circuits share a necessity for low aerodynamic downforce owing to their extended straights, despite their differing dynamic configurations.
The upcoming Singapore Grand Prix, scheduled for this weekend on the Marina Bay Street Circuit, poses a contrasting challenge that requires high aerodynamic downforce.
This event could be a crucial indicator of Red Bull’s regained competitiveness. If the RB21 excels in Singapore, it would position Max Verstappen not only as a possible decisive factor in the title race between McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri but also as a legitimate contender in a three-way battle for the drivers’ championship.
However, a pressing question arises regarding Ferrari. How did Red Bull manage to overcome a technical setback that had placed it as the fourth-fastest team over the summer, while Ferrari’s costly rear suspension upgrade has apparently failed to fix the ongoing issues with the SF-25?
Ferrari’s Struggles
A growing suspicion, noted both in the paddock and beyond, suggests that Ferrari’s primary weakness lies in managing the race weekend, particularly in fine-tuning the car’s setup. But is this truly the case? The current evidence indicates otherwise.
Recent detailed information suggests that the main issue may not be Ferrari’s inability to enhance the SF-25’s performance through setup adjustments, but instead an intrinsic insensitivity to such modifications.
The analysis reveals that Ferrari’s engineers opted for a development strategy to broaden the operational range of the SF-25, which was originally intended for peak performance levels that did not materialize outside of simulations.
To achieve this, a redesign of the rear suspension appeared to be the best option, particularly for reducing the car’s aerodynamic sensitivity to changes in ride height.
While this objective has been largely met—post the new rear suspension implementation at Belgium—the SF-25 has exhibited more linear and consistent aerodynamic performance, less dependent on ride height. However, this improvement has come at the cost of diminished responsiveness to setup changes, especially regarding vehicle dynamics.
Red Bull’s Advantage
This situation contrasts sharply with the RB21. Red Bull designed the car not to reach extreme performance peaks but to provide a stable dynamic platform that could be fine-tuned through setup adjustments.
Until the Italian Grand Prix, previous aerodynamic instabilities had hindered this platform from delivering reliable results across various weekends.
The introduction of a new floor at Monza addressed these aerodynamic issues, allowing the team to extract performance more predictably as the setup was refined during the race weekend.
Milton Keynes did not fundamentally alter the RB21’s essence, despite the car’s earlier uncompetitiveness and management difficulties across several races.
In contrast, Ferrari’s development approach led to a disruption of their car’s overall coherence. While Red Bull concentrated on aerodynamic enhancements that facilitated well-guided focused upgrades, Ferrari dedicated its efforts to mechanical modifications, particularly the rear suspension.
As a result, Red Bull successfully improved the RB21’s performance with relatively modest aerodynamic updates, alongside targeted setup changes during practice sessions, enhancing its consistency across various circuits and unlocking previously restricted performance potential.
All eyes will be on the Singapore Grand Prix, which will act as the true test for this theory. Current indications suggest that both Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda might possess a genuinely competitive car at Marina Bay.
