F1 news: Five things Red Bull Racing have learned so far this season

The first six races of the Formula 1 season are done and dusted, and the overall picture with regard to the Drivers’ and Constructors’ championships is starting to take shape.

In a somewhat surprising twist, Red Bull Racing – the team that has by all accounts dominated the sport recently – is having a tough time this year.

Here, Sports News Blitz writer Annika Böttcher looks at five aspects of the Austrian team’s struggles so far.

Second-driver challenges

The seat next to Max Verstappen remains as hot as ever.

After Sergio Pérez was dropped at the end of last season in favour of Liam Lawson, it didn’t take long to see that the New Zealander was struggling with the pressure.

He lasted just two races before being replaced by Yuki Tsunoda and sent back to sister team, Visa Cash App Racing Bulls.

Having produced the world champion four years running, Red Bull continue to be unsettled by the chaos surrounding their second seat.

So far, nobody has managed to consistently deliver alongside Verstappen – could Tsunoda be the one to finally break that pattern?

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Qualifying strength

Red Bull have already taken three pole positions in the first six races, a clear sign of Verstappen’s enduring quality.

He has consistently managed to edge out the quicker McLaren in qualification, but only one of those poles has turned into a win, with tyre wear proving to be Red Bull’s main weakness on race day and something the competition is handling much better.

Miami, in particular, made that gap painfully clear.

At the moment, their best chances come on tracks where overtaking is limited and Verstappen can control the pace from the front.

Elsewhere, it isn’t looking so rosy.

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A solitary win

The Austrian team has just the one win to their name so far: Verstappen’s victory from pole at Suzuka, a result helped by the fact that overtaking there is notoriously difficult.

On other circuits, Red Bull have struggled to keep up, especially with McLaren, who are about half a second quicker per lap than everyone else at the moment.

Red Bull are at least bringing an upgrade to Imola that should see them move closer to their rivals, but McLaren may already be too far ahead.

Like Suzuka, Imola isn’t easy to overtake on, so the Austrians do have that to look forward to, although it only matters if they deliver in qualifying.

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Drivers’ Championship outlook

Verstappen is currently third in the Drivers’ standings, 16 points behind Lando Norris and 32 behind championship leader Oscar Piastri.

The gap is still relatively small, and one retirement for the McLaren duo could throw the title race wide open again.

Verstappen can also gain from the fact that McLaren haven’t named a clear number one driver yet.

With tension already brewing between Norris and Piastri as a result, a clash between the two isn’t out of the question – if it happens, Verstappen could be the one to capitalise.

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Constructors’ Championship struggles

Red Bull missed out on the Constructors’ title last year, and things aren’t looking much better this season.

They are currently third, trailing McLaren and Mercedes, with Ferrari close behind in fourth.

The main issue is clear: Verstappen is carrying the team almost single-handedly, scoring nearly all of their points.

Unless Tsunoda starts delivering more consistently, Red Bull are unlikely to mount a serious challenge for the team title.

Then again, in recent years it has become obvious that their focus is more on the Drivers’ Championship than the Constructors’ Championship, so perhaps it does not matter.

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