Formula E star and former Red Bull junior driver Dan Ticktum believes that Max Verstappen is “obviously leaving” the team, amid rumours of the Dutchman’s future in the sport.
The four-time World Champion is at the centre of a whirlwind of speculation regarding his position within the Milton Keynes-based squad, amid reports – including from Motorsport Week – that he has held talks with McLaren.
2026 has so far been an unhappy season for Verstappen, who has yet to pick up a single Grand Prix victory, a guaranteed disappointment exacerbated by his negative opinions on the new regulation cycle for the sport.
Red Bull is in the first season of racing with its first in-house power unit, built with Ford, and despite failing to qualify for ADUO assistance due to its high combustion power, is mostly unable to keep up with rivals Mercedes and Ferrari.
Verstappen has, in the meantime, sought enjoyment from other forms of racing, including his NLS side quests at the Nurburgring in a Red Bull-backed Mercedes.
Speaking exclusively to Motorsport Week prior to his Race 1 success at the Tokyo E-Prix, Ticktum, when asked what his ideal team line-up would be, made the claim.
“In Red Bull? Me and Max,” he said. “I don’t think you’d find a stronger pairing than that! I think Max is obviously leaving.”
Max Verstappen the last ‘spectacular’ Red Bull product
Continuing his answer, Ticktum additionally claimed that a number of drivers on the current Formula E grid could easily make it in F1, and believes, under different circumstances, he would have also been able to have made it in the sport.
“I feel in F1 at the moment, there’s a lot of good drivers. I don’t think there’s a lot of drivers other than your obvious ones, you know. [Kimi] Antonelli’s obviously very special. Verstappen’s very special.
“And then you sort of get into the drivers who are very good. [Lando] Norris, [George] Russell, [Charles] Leclerc, you know, very, very good drivers. But below that lot, I think you could take a few drivers here to replace them with and they do as good a job, if not better. So it’s hard to say.
“I couldn’t pick a team. But, yeah, I mean, I don’t think since Max in the Red Bull family, there’s been anyone spectacular, shall we say. A lot of very good drivers and that’s no discredit to any of them.
“You know, [Liam] Lawson, [Isack] Hadjar, all these guys, they’re very, very good drivers. But I think had things worked out for me with a super licence back in the day, I think I could have given them a run for their money. That’s for sure.”
Ticktum backed up that claim with a calm and measured performance in Tokyo’s first night race on Saturday, with a late overtake on Jake Dennis to take his first E-Prix victory of the season.
The Cupra Kiro driver is also in a good position to challenge for another for Sunday’s race, with third place on the grid.
READ MORE – Dan Ticktum charges to Tokyo E-Prix victory with dramatic last-lap overtake
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