Bombshell Max Verstappen claim rocks F1 world as Red Bull Racing could lose top driver

Max Verstappen has showed time and time again that he is at the top of the F1 world but Red Bull Racing could struggle to hang onto him beyond this season.

A Formula 1 press release rarely gives anything away. That’s especially true in testing, when defensive teams work hard to obscure even the semblance of useful information.

So you can imagine the surprise when Red Bull Racing technical director Pierre Waché’s quotes after the final day of the pre-season appeared to give quite a bit away about the team’s plight in 2025.

“It was not as smooth a test as we expected and the team expected,” he said.

“I am not as happy as I could be because the car did not respond how we wanted at times.

“It is going in the right direction, just maybe the magnitude of the direction was not as big as we expected, and it’s something we need to work on for the first race and future development.”

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It was a remarkably honest take that will have pricked up the ears of more than a few of Red Bull Racing’s rivals.

It’s not just that the team will start the final season of these rules on the back foot, having seemingly been set up for domination after its almost perfect 2023.

It’s that a tough campaign could have ramifications for Max Verstappen’s contract.

There are no alarm bells ringing at Milton Keynes yet. The pre-season was hardly disastrous, and things can change quickly in a 24-race season — as the team found out to its detriment in the constructors championship last year.

But the clouds that have been building on the horizon for years could now be finally drifting overhead.

Max Verstappen faces a battle to win the driver’s championship in 2025. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

Max Verstappen’s Red Bull frustration years in the making

While Verstappen was undeniably the best performer of 2024, he also had a little bit of luck on his side on the cruise to his fourth title.

Timing was everything. Had McLaren had its act together earlier than the Miami Grand Prix, or had Ferrari not squandered its European campaign on a botched upgrade package, his fourth championship would have been much harder to win.

Verstappen’s advantage over Lando Norris would have shrunk from 63 points down to just 11 points had the count started from Miami, where the Briton claimed his first victory and signalled McLaren’s comeback.

Norris would have been champion by six points if the championship comprised the last 14 rounds.

Those stats aren’t just academic; they demonstrate Red Bull Racing’s grasp on the sport slackening significantly.

Verstappen went 10 rounds without victory after the Spanish Grand Prix as his hamstrung RB20 car left him fighting with one hand increasingly tightly tied behind his back. He broke the drought in Brazil with a masterful drive in treacherous weather. His only other victory, in Qatar, seemed powered as much by spite for George Russell as anything else.

While the Dutchman was able to retain his championship lead despite his struggles, Red Bull Racing lost the constructors championship, slumping to third behind title-winner McLaren and runner-up Ferrari.

The team had developed itself into a performance corner, with every upgrade making the car less usable and less predictable to drive.

But how did the team that set new records for dominance in 2023 end up in such distress just one season later?

“I don’t think everyone [in the team] understands the situation,” Verstappen said, per the UK Express, after finishing a sloppy fifth at last year’s Hungarian Grand Prix. “With me, they know that I don’t make excuses, I’m always very realistic.

“Maybe not everyone is on the same wavelength. I think that some people might need to wake up a little.

“If you want to become world champion, it has to go better than this.”

Max Verstappen has become increasingly frustrated with his vehicle. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

Where would Max Verstappen go if he left Red Bull?

Verstappen signed his current lucrative contract after winning his maiden championship in 2021. It will see him through to the end of 2028.

But every contract contains exit clauses. Verstappen appeared to reveal one of his when he tied his place at the team to Marko keeping his job last year. He’s also likely to have results-related exit clauses available to him that would allow him to walk if Red Bull Racing were to underperform. There could be others too.

Whatever the case, Jos Verstappen has felt uninhibited in heavily suggesting his son could be on the market.

Mercedes has been keen to establish itself as the frontrunning contender for the Dutchman’s services.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has long considered Verstappen the driver that got away. His team had been in the running for the Dutchman as a teenager but was outbid by Red Bull, which offered him a drive at Toro Rosso immediately to clinch the deal.

Max Verstappen would have no shortage of suitors if he left Red Bull. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

Wolff was at the forefront of last year’s public prodding to try to dislodge the now four-time champion from Milton Keynes.

Curiously, during the off-season he admitted to having talks with Jos Verstappen that concluded with both parties agreeing to bide their time, allowing Mercedes to sign much-hyped junior Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

“We together came to the conclusion over the summer that we shouldn’t be waiting for something to happen before committing for 2025, but let’s just continue our job, Max at Red Bull and here at Mercedes taking our own driver decisions,” Wolff told Dutch media in last August.

“But that doesn’t close the door on Max being with us in 2026 or beyond, because we want to still keep all the options open in the same way he does.”

Notably both Antonelli and Russell are out of contract at the end of this season.

Originally published as Bombshell Max Verstappen claim rocks F1 world as Red Bull Racing could lose top driver