Red Bull is no longer a dominant team in Formula 1, he has a big problem finding the right second driver. Max Verstappen shows a master class, staying at the forefront with a car, which is quite difficult to lead. The Dutchman must for now recognize the superiority of both McLaren drivers. However, if the Dutchman's results suddenly worsened, he would have the opportunity to leave Red Bull prematurely. It is connected with two, and even need teams.
Schumacher spoke on the future of Verstappen
Max Verstappen has a valid contract with Red Bull Racing by the end of the 2028 season. But foreign media does not exclude the option of Dutchman's earlier departure from the team. It is connected mainly with the transfer to British teams. According to Ralf Schumacher, there are only two bands today that could meet the expectations of Verstappen.
– From my point of view there are only two, at most three realistic options. They can only be Aston Martin and Mercedes. Possibly McLaren, if he stated that he would part with a less consistent driver – said Schumacher, quoted by Sport.de.
It is possible that after the 2026 season, a place in Astona Martin will be released due to the expiry of the Fernando Alonso contract. For Verstappen, the replacement of the two -time world champion would mean re -cooperation with Adrian Newey, one of the most recognizable car engineers and designers in F1. Aston Martin hopes that from next year, i.e. with a new generation of cars, he will fight for a podia.
It would be more difficult to get to Verstappen to Mercedes. Suddenly they would have to disappoint George Russell or Andrea Kimi Antonella. The British became the team leader after the departure of Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari. In addition, he has strained relationships with Verstappen, so cooperation with the Dutchman would not be one more pleasant ones. In turn, Italy is the youngest driver at the stake, in August he will only be 19 years old, this is his debut season. Toto Wolff sees him a huge talent, he wants to give him time to develop his wings.
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“Autosport” reported that if at the end of June Verstappen were outside the top four in the general classification, he would have the opportunity to leave the team after this season. However, such a scenario is unlikely. According to Ralf Schumacher, the Dutchman's departure from Red Bull should be ruled out after this season. It would sooner happen after 2026.
– He grew up with Red Bull and owes a lot to the team. They also financed his career at the beginning, which should not be forgotten. It is also his feature of character that he is really grateful and waits to the end. In fact, he secretly wants to stay because he is also his family. What he achieved with Red Bull is not a coincidence. I think he has time. He doesn't have to make decisions now. I don't think it would be necessary at all – he assessed.
It is possible that in the new season the rate will turn upside down. Almost all teams have problems with designing new engines in which electricity will be more important. Foreign media reported that Mercedes had the most power on tests so far, but at the same time its power unit was very susceptible to failures. Red Bull will work with Ford, Aston Martin with Honda.
The next F1 race will take place on June 15 at the Montreal track for the Canada Grand Prix. The leader of the championship classification is Oscar Piastri, with ten points advantage over Lando Norris. The third is Verstappen, who loses 49 points to the leader.