Troubled Red Bull search for path back to fast lane in Saudi

AILING Red Bull arrive on the Red Sea for this weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah desperate to prevent their 2025 season sinking into mediocrity.

- 

The Austrian Formula One giants left Bahrain on Sunday in sombre mood, their limitations laid bare under the harsh flood-lights in the desert of Sakhir.

Here AFP Sport assesses the issues that threaten to derail Max Verstappen’s quest for a fifth successive world title...

The state of play

Verstappen slipped to third in the drivers’ standings, eight points behind McLaren's leader Lando Norris, after trailing in sixth, over half a minute behind Norris's teammate Oscar Piastri, in Bahrain.

He has accounted for all bar two of the team’s tally in the constructors’ championship, where they are lagging a massive 80 points behind runaway leaders McLaren after just four races.

Crisis talks

As McLaren celebrated their third win from four in Sakhir, Red Bull convened a ‘crisis’ meeting involving their top brass.