Despite Lewis Hamilton claiming his first victory (albeit in a Sprint Race) for Ferrari, it is Red Bull who have dominated headlines in the last 24 hours. Not for the first time, their driver line-up has taken centre stage in F1.
Liam Lawson’s poor performances are generating significant scrutiny towards the Milton Keynes operation.
In the meantime, Max Verstappen continues operating at the highest level – securing top 3 results despite the RB21’s shortcomings.
Speaking of Red Bull’s deficiencies, Helmut Marko admits that an uncompetitive package could encourage Verstappen to explore alternatives.
Rumours of a Verstappen Red Bull exit
An inevitable part of the F1 circus is driver market speculation, especially regarding the top drivers. Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari move kick-started a domino effect across the field, proving how volatile the field can be.
In this context, there have been lingering rumours about Max Verstappen’s future at Red Bull.
Most of these reports are purely speculative, gathering steam after the rifts created by last year’s Christian Horner controversy.
The most common train of thought is that Aston Martin (who will benefit from Honda and Adrian Newey’s services in 2026) could be a logical destination for the 4-time Champion.
At this stage, discussing Verstappen’s next destination is largely predicated on hypotheticals. After all, there are still a few years left on his Red Bull contract.
Still, Red Bull are not complacent enough to assume the Dutchman will never look elsewhere.
Helmut Marko recognises that Verstappen’s future can only be secured with a race-winning car.
“Max wants a car that can always win,” he told Sky Germany.
“There are always performance clauses. And if we can’t offer him that, it will be difficult.”
In recent weeks, McLaren CEO Zak Brown has suggested that Red Bull could lose their star driver at the end of the year.
Although this is almost certainly a tactic to create speculation at the Austrian outfit, Verstappen’s situation is still worth monitoring.
Doubts about Red Bull’s 2026 project
The last twelve months have been uncharacteristically difficult for Red Bull in terms of development.
Liam Lawson’s successive P20 qualifying results are evidence that driving a Red Bull requires being on the very edge.
This is something only Max Verstappen, at least in recent years, has managed with any success.
The 27-year-old believes the RB21 is fourth-fastest car, and this analysis seems consistent with the data.
Over one lap, McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes have shown greater potential – provided their drivers put the lap together.
Although there is only a small sample size to make conclusions about race pace, Verstappen’s tyre degradation in Australia and the China Sprint don’t paint a very encouraging picture at Red Bull.
On paper, even if Red Bull fight for a title in 2025, a team can be forgiven for one difficult year after several dominant seasons.
However, there are several question marks surrounding the Austrian team’s chances in 2026 – mainly related to their new engine department, Red Bull Powertrains.
To be clear, Verstappen is still very far from jumping ship and leaving the Milton Keynes squad.
Still, this does not guarantee his continuation at Red Bull – should the 4-time Champion begin to doubt their trajectory.
