Zak Brown, the CEO of McLaren, believes that the ‘Verstappen drama’ is far from over as the situation at Red Bull Racing is ‘unstable’ and the team ‘does not have a strong foundation’ at the moment. Brown has been vocal about the situation at Red Bull Racing this year, where rumors suggest there has been internal power struggles since the passing of Dietrich Mateschitz. Allegedly, there is a power struggle between the Thai owners and Christian Horner on one side, and Oliver Mintzlaff and Helmut Marko on the other. Horner was accused of misconduct earlier this year, leading to an investigation – which concluded with Red Bull deciding not to dismiss Horner. This was followed by the departure of designer Adrian Newey and almost the exit of Marko. Marko mentioned a ‘ceasefire’ has been reached, as the team’s on-track results are not as dominant as they were in 2022 and 2023. The team has only won three out of six races in 2024, compared to last year when they only missed out on the Singapore Grand Prix victory.
Due to the turmoil within Red Bull Racing, Verstappen’s future at the team is now uncertain for the first time. The Dutch driver is under contract until the end of 2028, but rumors of a potential move to Mercedes in 2025 or more likely in 2026 have increased. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has fueled these rumors but also mentioned that the team won’t be fast enough to convince Verstappen to switch before 2025. However, from 2026 onwards, with new engine regulations potentially favoring Mercedes as they did in 2014, the situation could change.
Jos Verstappen, Max’s father, has also been critical of the team’s current situation this year. According to Brown, this indicates that Max Verstappen himself is not happy with how things are going. Brown expressed his views on the ‘Verstappen drama’ in the Bloomberg Hot Pursuit podcast, stating, “Then you have the whole Verstappen drama. Will he stay or will he leave? He has a contract, but his father was very outspoken. It’s undoubtedly a great racing team, but it’s currently a very unstable environment, as we can see with the departure of Adrian [Newey]. You can never count them out because they are an incredible team. However, in my opinion, it’s a team that lacks strong foundations right now.”
In conclusion, the future of Max Verstappen at Red Bull Racing remains uncertain amidst internal turmoil and speculations about a potential move to Mercedes. The instability within the team has raised concerns about its long-term prospects and ability to retain top talent like Verstappen. Only time will tell how the ‘Verstappen drama’ unfolds and whether he will continue with Red Bull or seek new opportunities elsewhere in the future.