Red Bull’s Reign in Trouble As High-Stakes F1 Showdown Looms

Red Bull Racing has lost its lead in the Formula One constructors’ championship standings for the first time since May 2022, setting up a high-stakes—and expensive—battle for supremacy in the sport as the season concludes this fall.

McLaren overtook Red Bull after Oscar Piastri’s win at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Sunday. It was the seventh straight race victory by someone other than Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who won seven of the first 10 races this season. Verstappen is the highest-paid driver in F1, with a $55 million annual salary, and still holds a 59-point lead in the drivers’ championship standings over McLaren’s Lando Norris (race wins are worth 25 points).

A New Era

The biggest cloud over Red Bull right now is the pending departure of renowned car designer Adrian Newey. 

The man most responsible for seven drivers’ championships and six constructors’ titles during his 18-year stint with Red Bull officially announced his move to Aston Martin last week, agreeing to a contract that British media reports is worth nearly $200 million over five years.

However, Newey is still under contract with Red Bull, which has irked team principal Christian Horner. “They chose to celebrate it perhaps potentially slightly prematurely,” Horner said of Aston Martin and Newey’s announcement. While team principals are typically the public faces of F1 teams, Horner makes only $8 million to $10 million annually as the sport’s highest-paid boss.

Closing Speed

There are seven races left in what is now the most competitive F1 season in recent memory. “We’re just going to throw everything at it,” Horner said of Red Bull’s fight to defend its titles. Ferrari is only 29 points behind Red Bull, and Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) and Piastri are within striking distance of Verstappen and Norris.

After this weekend’s race in Singapore, F1 will pick back up at the U.S. Grand Prix on Oct. 20, followed by races in Mexico, Brazil, and the second edition of the Las Vegas Grand Prix. As ESPN looks to sustain its U.S. viewership gains this season, the two American events should have more juice than ever before.