Red Bull Advisor Dr. Helmut Marko has cast fresh doubt over Max Verstappen’s Red Bull future, saying he can’t guarantee the Dutchman will be at the team for the 2026 Formula 1 season.
Verstappen, who is contracted through the 2028 season with Red Bull, has started to see the wheels fall off the once-all-conquering wagon this term.
After Red Bull won all but one race in 2023 and started 2024 in impressive fashion, the squad hasn’t won in any of the last six rounds.
Verstappen has gone as far to say the team has turned its car “into a monster,” and perhaps sustained frustration could see the Dutchman look elsewhere.
“Next year [Verstappen will] be driving for Red Bull Racing,” Marko told OE24 when asked to comment on the reigning World Champion’s future.
“[But 2026] is so far away, and for now our full focus is on the 2024 world championship.”
Verstappen currently leads the Drivers’ standings by 62 points over McLaren’s Lando Norris with Red Bull just eight points ahead of its Woking-based rivals in the Constructors’ Championship.
Speaking after an under-whelming Italian Grand Prix at Monza last weekend, Verstappen said “at the moment both championships are not realistic.”
The worrying dip in performance at Red Bull has compounded upon issues the team has sustained off-track in 2024.
First, Team Principal Christian Horner was accused of misconduct, but despite being cleared, often finds himself at odds with Jos Verstappen through the proxy of the media.
Meanwhile, Mercedes Team Principal spent several months publicly courting Verstappen’s services for his own squad, before signing Kimi Antonelli to partner George Russell in 2025.
“I made up my mind [on Antonelli] five minutes after Lewis Hamilton told me he was going to Ferrari,” Wolff told media including Motorsport Week.
“Obviously we were discussing with other options, and obviously the Max idea couldn’t be discounted completely looking at what happened at Red Bull.”
If Red Bull’s struggles continue into 2025, it isn’t unheard of that Verstappen could look elsewhere for an improved chance at winning.
That’s why, as Marko puts it, the team’s “full focus” is on retaining its Constructors’ and Drviers’ titles, to ensure its star driver remains content, especially with the 2026 Red Bull Powertrains project offering a level of uncertainty.
Should the Dutchman get itchy feet, Mercedes, or even Aston Martin with a forthcoming Honda works engine deal and rumoured tie-in with departing Red Bull design guru Adrian Newey allegedly on the way, could prove tempting targets for Verstappen to land on.
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