Red Bull reveal hard-to-find 'errors' created by 'army relic'

Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko has revealed that the team is struggling to find the cause of a correlation "error", due to the age of its "relic" wind tunnel. 

It has been a turbulent start to the 2025 F1 season for the Milton Keynes-based outfit, with a driver change having already been made ahead of this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix.

From Suzuka, Liam Lawson has returned to Racing Bulls, with Yuki Tsunoda having been promoted to partner Max Verstappen. 

Whilst this could solve Red Bull's problem of only the reigning world champion scoring points, it continues to suffer from having an old wind tunnel. 

Red Bull is in the process of building a new state-of-the-art wind tunnel which is expected to be operational next year, yet for now must continue with its current problematic facility. 

The team has struggled for correlation between the wind tunnel, the simulator and the track, an issue which Marko revealed is yet to be understood. 

"Our existing wind tunnel is a relic from the 1940s and was built by the army," Marko told Kleine Zeitung. 

"Although it has been modified several times, it still has the disadvantage of being very long and having visible concrete tubes. When it is cold or hot outside, it is difficult to achieve the necessary temperatures. 

"The new wind tunnel is under construction and should be ready in 2026. The correlation errors I mentioned were sometimes very irritating last year and we have been working on them. But we don't know exactly where the error is."

Red Bull sit third in the F1 constructors' standings after the first two races but is already 32 points adrift of McLaren. 

The Woking-based team has made an exceptional start to its title defence, with Marko recognising the strength of its rival.

"They are performing like us in 2023, with a car that works in all conditions, in any weather and on any track," insisted Marko. 

"In China they weakened a bit for the first time, especially Lando Norris. But McLaren is currently the top favourite with two strong drivers and a strong car."