Red Bull handed major 'cracks appearing' warning after F1 tensions

Johnny Herbert believes Red Bull has "fundamental issues" it must solve as "cracks" are appearing in the operation of the F1 team. 

Red Bull has struggled with an unpredictable car since the summer of 2024 and has discarded both Sergio Perez and Liam Lawson in that time for not being able to perform as well as team leader Max Verstappen - the only Red Bull driver to win a grand prix since April 2023.

Furthermore, the team was rocked in early 2024 by a power struggle after allegations of inappropriate behaviour against team principal Christian Horner, which he denied, with the long-term future of reigning four-time champion Verstappen also in doubt. 

The Milton Keynes-based squad has also been hit with the departures of chief technical officer Adrian Newey, sporting director Jonathan Wheatley and the impending loss of strategy chief Will Courtenay to McLaren. 

With that in mind, former F1 racer and pundit Herbert feels that the "Red Bull ship is not breezing along calmly."

"Helmut Marko does seem to come out with comments which then Christian Horner comes out and tries to ‘explain,’ that what Marko said wasn’t quite the case or that it wasn't the right thing to say," he told PokerFirma.

"Is it a ship that is breezing along calmly? I would say not.

"There are so many fundamental issues with the ability to get the second driver or a good second driver to come up against Max and the issues with Christian that still seem to be bubbling under the surface as well. 

"Max liking a social media post about [Liam] Lawson shows a lot. The importance of 2026 and all the changes means you suddenly focus maybe away from where you're actually at because of those uncomfortable situations that have sort of happened and are still going on.

"Cracks at Red Bull are there, but it has managed to paint over them, and it seems to be able to react very well. But, overall, it’s probably not about this year. It’s about next year and the year after.

"It's in the next two or three years where we’ll see whether those cracks become bigger or whether they are able to control them."

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Red Bull 'bouncing off the walls'

However, despite also believing that the team itself is "bouncing off the walls", Herbert feels that Red Bull is still able to do the basics right and provide a quick racing car - as evidenced by Verstappen's stunning pole lap and eventual win in the Japanese Grand Prix. 

"Looking at Suzuka, you can see that actually the ship is not in a bad place, but it's maybe just not in the place that it once was," he added.

"Red Bull is still doing a cracking job because they're still supplying a car that Max is able to get a pole position in and then win a race. 

"So, while in one way the team may not be rocking behind the scenes, it’s actually rocking when it gets onto the track.

"It's all bouncing off the walls within the foundations of the team, but at the end of the day, the people that have to do the job, to get that car quick on the track, are still able to do that."