Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko has revealed the Austrian outfit made significant changes to the RB21 after first practice ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix that helped propel Max Verstappen into sprint pole contention.
Following the alterations, Verstappen produced a superb display to secure second on the grid for the first sprint race of the 2025 F1 season.
The downside for Red Bull was the performance of Liam Lawson who suffered a horrific session and qualified last.
As for Verstappen, the four-time F1 champion was just 0.018s slower than Lewis Hamilton's pole lap time in his Ferrari, which was also a lap record at the Shanghai International Circuit.
Marko was stunned by Verstappen's performance, especially after the team experienced high levels of tyre wear during free practice.
"Unbelievable!" Marko told Motorsport Magazin. "We changed quite a lot. If you looked at the tyre wear [in practice], in the long run, we were one-and-a-half seconds slower per lap.
"The handling has also improved a lot. Max set a mega lap with no mistakes, whilst the McLarens shot off the track several times.
"However, I do think it will be a tough race. It is far from certain that the drivers on the starting grid will cross the finish line in the same order."
Regarding Red Bull's tyre wear issues in practice, Marko explained that the team is struggling on the kerbs in Shanghai, and with general grip levels.
Alarmingly, the 81-year-old revealed that based on free practice, a set of tyres would not make it to the end of the sprint race.
"It was general," added Marko. "We had grip problems and the kerbs are not our strong point.
"I don't know if you saw what our tyres looked like. We wouldn't even get through 19 laps with one set."
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