Racing Bulls Unveil Impressively Large Imola F1 Upgrades

Racing Bulls is set to roll out a major upgrade package for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix at Imola, introducing brand new floor and bodywork designs on its cars. This marks the team’s biggest change of the 2025 Formula 1 season so far, with the upgrades making their debut at a race just a short drive from Racing Bulls’ Faenza headquarters.

Despite the large number of new parts, the team is being careful in their approach. Their experiences in 2024, when an aggressive Barcelona upgrade backfired and slowed the car, have made them cautious about changing too much at once.

The new floor and bodywork are among the most important parts for car performance in Formula 1. Even though these upgrades are substantial in size, the team does not expect huge time gains on track. For a deeper understanding of aerodynamics in F1, you can explore this resource from MIT’s Motorsports Research.

Laurent Mekies, the Racing Bulls team principal, described the change as just a small step, even though the volume of new parts is high. He explained that the link between aerodynamics and how the car handles is very tight, and even a promising update on paper can upset the car’s balance if not done carefully.

Across the opening six rounds of the season, Racing Bulls picked up seven points in China and Japan, but then managed to score only one more in Saudi Arabia. That puts the team in eighth place in the constructors’ standings heading into Imola.

The midfield battle has been the tightest in years, with gaps of only one or two tenths separating many cars. Mekies said that even the smallest updates could mean the difference between making it to Q3 or getting knocked out early in qualifying. To learn more about F1 qualifying dynamics, check out the FIA’s official regulations.

The team will continue making gradual changes over the next several rounds. Step-by-step upgrades are planned up to races eight, nine, or ten before development work is expected to slow as teams start thinking about the 2026 car.

Mekies pointed to the Spanish Grand Prix on June 1 as a key moment this season. After that event, Racing Bulls will decide whether to keep improving the 2025 car or turn their focus to building for the new 2026 rule set, which will see big technical changes across Formula 1.

Mekies also mentioned the latest FIA rules about flexing front wings, which could mix up the order in the midfield even further. He said almost every team will be taking stock after Barcelona and making similar decisions on where to put their resources.

For Racing Bulls, the default is still to prioritize the 2025 campaign, but everything will be reviewed after the Spanish race. This weekend at Imola, with the team’s first major upgrade and its home crowd watching, Racing Bulls is hoping for a positive reaction.

Even if the steps forward are small, in a season where every fraction of a second counts, the new floor and bodywork could play a vital role in helping the team climb the midfield ranks. The next few races will reveal whether the measured approach to updates brings Racing Bulls closer to the front of Formula 1’s packed midfield fight. For more insights into F1’s technical evolution, visit Wikipedia’s F1 technical regulations page.

Daniel Miller

Daniel Miller reports on Formula 1 Grand Prix weekends with race-day analysis, team-radio highlights, and point-standings updates. He explains power-unit upgrades, aerodynamic developments, and driver rivalries in straightforward, SEO-friendly language for a global F1 audience.