Red Bull will not “throw away” 2025 F1 title for 2026 head start

Red Bull’s technical director Pierre Wache has insisted the team will not sacrifice the 2025 Formula 1 title fight – not even to maximise its chances for the new era next season.

F1’s upcoming overhaul in technical rules means teams are facing a difficult balancing act when it comes to allocating their resources over 2025.

Hampered by current regulations which restrict both their financial spending and aerodynamic testing, F1 outfits need to decide to what extent they should prioritise development of their 2026 challenger at the expense of their current car.

Getting the most of new regulations can be crucial to a title-contending campaign, as Brawn GP and Mercedes experienced in 2009 and 2014 respectively, although evidence to the contrary exists as well – in 2008, BMW Sauber gave up on a potential title bid with Robert Kubica and yet failed to produce a competitive car for the following season.

Red Bull is expecting the 2025 pecking order to be tight at the front with McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes, and the Milton Keynes-based squad intends not to shy away from the championship race.

“[The balancing act] will depend massively on what you find as well,” Wache told Motorsport.com. “If you find a lot for 2026, then the temptation is there to put a lot of effort on 2026.

“But if we have a chance to fight for the championship in 2025, and I think we will, then you will never throw away a championship.

“It will be a difficult decision for sure. We will go with a strategy at the beginning of the season, and that strategy has a massive chance to change.”

Despite Max Verstappen taking a fourth consecutive drivers’ title in 2024, Red Bull was defeated by McLaren and Ferrari in the constructors’ championship – but there is a silver lining for the team.

By regulation, aerodynamic testing restrictions (including wind tunnel use and CFD) become more and more constraining as teams are successful, based on the 2024 constructors’ standings for the first six months of 2025.

As a consequence, Red Bull is making the most of 768 wind tunnel runs over the six-month period until the end of June, while reigning champion McLaren is limited to 672. In comparison, last-placed Sauber is enjoying no fewer than 1,104 runs.

“It is potentially a big advantage for 2026, and I hope that we use it properly,” Wache added. However, the Frenchman did warn that resources are not the be-all and end-all.

“It is not because you’ve got more money or more wind tunnel time that you will perform better.

“Otherwise, people at the back would always be first in the following year. That is not how it works in Formula 1, but it could be an advantage and we have to use it well. It is a positive aspect of our position, so it can be quite positive.”