Max Verstappen’s time at Red Bull could be coming to an end. It’s just a rumour, yes… but in Milton Keynes, concerns are high. The Austrian team’s sporting advisor Helmut Marko says there is a “risk of losing him” if things don’t improve soon.
Red Bull is in a tough spot… a tough spot. After two dominant seasons in which they won both the drivers’ and constructors’ titles, McLaren took the championship away from them in 2024, and although Max Verstappen was able to secure his fourth title, it was with great difficulty that he succeeded.
Coincidentally or not, Red Bull’s performance has been in decline since Adrian Newey left. In fact, the RB21 is the first car not designed by the legendary designer, and it has proven to be a rather difficult car to drive and doesn’t offer enough performance to compete with McLaren.
Helmut Marko is clear that they need to change their approach, because while they are aware that the car is not competitive, they still need to understand why.
“We need to rethink our approach. For example, we need to have a better training program and use the engine more to understand our situation. We have very good staff, but they need to rethink themselves and everyone needs to be open and honest. We know the car is not competitive, but why,” said Marko.
The 2025 season looks complicated for Red Bull… but so does 2026. And 2026 is that year. The year that all the teams are working towards. Formula 1 will experience one of the biggest technical revolutions in history, and success will depend on how well the teams adapt.
Red Bull is parting ways with Honda at the end of this year and is welcoming Ford, a partner with whom it will work on the production of its own power units. The outlook for the performance of Red Bull’s engines is not positive, so Sevza now seems to think that the Austrian team will not have an advantage in 2026.
The risk of losing Max Verstappen
And that’s a problem. A big problem, because Max Verstappen could say “it’s over” at any moment, even though he has a contract until 2028.
“In the short term, technically we can’t do anything. We hope to make progress at least while we’re in Europe. But with this kind of performance, we won’t be able to defend our world championship title. And that’s not good because we risk losing Max Verstappen,” the Austrian pointed out.
“The concern is huge. Improvements have to happen that will allow him to win. We are very concerned and there are things happening right now,” the 81-year-old noted.
Red Bull must improve immediately. Building trust in their “striker”, Max Verstappen, and securing a promising future seems complicated at the moment. But that is what they must try to do. Mercedes is still waiting for the four-time world champion, and their project looks promising. Will there be a big turnaround? Perhaps that depends on the next few races.
