Red Bull Racing RB21
| Company type | Racing car |
|---|---|
| Industry | Formula One |
| Predecessor | Red Bull Racing RB20 |
| Founded | 2025 |
| Headquarters | Milton Keynes , United Kingdom |
Key people | Pierre Waché (Technical Director) |
| Products | Formula One car |
| Parent | Red Bull Racing |
The Red Bull Racing RB21 is a Formula One car competing in the 2025 Formula One World Championship. The vehicle is piloted by reigning World Champion Max Verstappen, alongside Liam Lawson, who was later replaced by Yuki Tsunoda starting from the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix. This car is powered by the final iteration of the Honda RBPTH003 engine, branded under Honda RBPT, representing Red Bull's concluding season utilizing Honda power units before switching to Red Bull Powertrains Ford engines in 2026.
This chassis marks a departure from previous models, being the first since the Red Bull RB2 not to be designed by former Chief Technical Officer Adrian Newey. Instead, Technical Director Pierre Waché took charge of both the design and manufacturing phases.
By the time of the 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix, the RB21 had achieved two victories, five podium finishes, four pole positions, one fastest lap, and a sprint race win—all accomplishments credited to Verstappen.
Livery
The RB21’s paint scheme was revealed during the F1 75 event held at The O2 Arena on 18 February 2025. It maintained a design closely resembling previous seasons with only slight modifications to sponsor logos.
At the , Red Bull introduced a "White Bull" livery variant, reminiscent of their 2021 Turkish Grand Prix design, symbolizing their final campaign with Honda. The matte white base combined with satin red branding paid tribute to traditional Japanese racing colours.
During the Imola, both cars featured vintage-style numbers from 2005 to 2013 as part of a celebration marking Red Bull’s 400th Grand Prix entry.
Competition and development history of the RB21
During pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit, Red Bull completed 304 laps, registering the fewest laps among all teams. Verstappen acknowledged that there was "work to do," while Lawson mentioned encountering "teething gremlins" related to the new car’s development.
Opening rounds
- Verstappen and Lawson
The defending champion Max Verstappen began the season alongside rookie driver Liam Lawson for the initial two races. Lawson brought limited part-time experience gained from sister teams Scuderia AlphaTauri and Visa Cash App RB.
In qualifying for the , McLaren claimed the front row, with Verstappen starting third and ultimately finishing second after a competitor spun out. Lawson qualified eighteenth but retired early due to a collision with a wall during formation laps.
At the sprint weekend, Verstappen secured second on the grid and finished third in the sprint race but ended fourth in the main event. Lawson struggled throughout qualifying sessions, starting from the pit lane and finishing outside point-scoring positions; however, he was elevated to twelfth place following post-race disqualifications. These performances led Red Bull to contemplate replacing Lawson.
- Verstappen and Tsunoda
Yuki Tsunoda took over from Lawson ahead of the . On his debut, Tsunoda qualified fifteenth and finished twelfth, while Verstappen earned pole position and claimed victory—Red Bull’s first win of that season.
Red Bull experienced difficulties in Bahrain: Verstappen qualified seventh but advanced only to sixth after slow pit stops; Tsunoda qualified tenth but was involved in a collision that forced retirement. In Saudi Arabia, Verstappen secured pole but was penalized for exceeding track limits, handing victory to McLaren’s Piastri. Tsunoda started seventh but retired early following contact with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly.
At , Red Bull introduced upgrades including a new floor initially fitted solely on Verstappen’s car for data acquisition. During Miami’s sprint race, Verstappen qualified fourth but incurred a penalty for an unsafe release and subsequently dropped to last place after a safety car incident—marking his first finish outside points since 2016. Tsunoda began from the pit lane and finished sixth. In the main race, Verstappen started on pole and finished fourth; Tsunoda qualified and ended tenth.
Mid-season developments
Ahead of Red Bull Racing's 400th Grand Prix at the 2025 Emilia Romagna event, the RB21 underwent a significant upgrade package accompanied by distinctive liveries. Unfortunately, Tsunoda suffered a severe crash during qualifying that wrecked both team cars, necessitating a complete rebuild of his RB21 and forcing him to start the race from the pit lane. Verstappen, who began in second position, went on to claim victory. Despite the setback, Tsunoda managed to climb ten positions and secured a single championship point. The damage was so extensive that Tsunoda had to compete using a spare chassis without the latest upgrades, which impacted his performance as late as the Belgian GP in 2025.
At the Monaco Grand Prix that year, Tsunoda was eliminated early in Q2, while Verstappen qualified fourth. Unlike previous years marked by incidents, Red Bull experienced a clean race weekend. Verstappen led for much of the race but finished fourth due to Monaco's mandatory two-stop strategy and absence of a late safety car intervention following a late pit stop. Tsunoda ended the race in seventeenth place, two laps behind the leader.
During the Spanish Grand Prix, Tsunoda started from the back of the grid after qualifying last, with Verstappen securing third on the grid. Verstappen faced challenges with tyre temperature management and received a ten-second penalty following contact with George Russell, which dropped him to tenth place. Tsunoda began from the pit lane and completed the race in thirteenth position. These results caused Red Bull to slip to fourth place in the Constructors' Championship standings behind Mercedes.
At the Canadian Grand Prix, Verstappen narrowly missed pole position to Russell and finished second in the race; Tsunoda came home twelfth. The Austrian Grand Prix proved difficult for Verstappen, who struggled with car balance and spun during practice sessions. He qualified seventh but retired on lap one after colliding with Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli. Tsunoda qualified eighteenth and was last among classified finishers. This marked Red Bull’s first home race without points since Bahrain 2022.
The British Grand Prix brought additional obstacles: Verstappen secured pole with a low-downforce setup but encountered difficulties in wet race conditions due to excessive tyre wear and ride quality issues, ultimately finishing fifth after falling back to tenth during the event. Tsunoda concluded the race in fifteenth place.
Verstappen won the sprint race at Belgium and finished fourth in the main Grand Prix. Tsunoda qualified eleventh, placing twelfth in the sprint and thirteenth in the race itself.
At Hungary, results were modest: Tsunoda was eliminated again in Q1; Verstappen qualified eighth just behind Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto and finished ninth behind teammate Liam Lawson. Tsunoda did not score points at this event.
Complete Formula One results
Season ongoing.