Max Verstappen repeated it again. It was at the end of May, on the circuit in Barcelona. At a table in the wooden building that drags Red Bull to every European Grand Prix, a journalist had asked him if he enjoyed the fight with McLaren. “To be honest, it doesn’t feel like a fight,” Verstappen replied.
There was no frustration in his voice, Verstappen was just as relaxed as always during media sessions. You could see that he had already resigned himself to the loss of the world title.
At that time, just before the Spain Grand Prix, the outside world certainly had not written off. Verstappen was 25 points behind leader Oscar Piastri – exactly one win. He had already managed to beat the faster McLarens twice. If Verstappen kept his unpredictable Red Bull under control, an unlikely fifth title was possible?
A month later even the biggest optimist has to admit that the chance of such a triumph is small. After a Ramp weekend in Austria, Verstappen now arrived at Silverstone in British with a backlog of 61 points at Piastri.
Illustrative was what happened in Austria last weekend, on Red Bull’s own circuit. Verstappen qualified in a disappointing seventh position. A distorted result, because he could not finish a faster round due to yellow flags, but he would have ended up well behind the McLarens. The same McLarens that were dominant in the race on Sunday, after Verstappen had been fucked out of the game by Mercedes-Tiener Kimi Antonelli in the first round.
Not a big deal
Verstappen was cool again afterwards. He mentioned The collision with Antonelli „not a big dealAnd spoke some PR phrases About ‘trying to learn’ and ‘see what is happening’. Red Bull leader Helmut Marko was what More right for his turnip: “This forces us to write off the championship.”
Marko will have known: if Red Bull cannot come close to McLarens now, it will probably not work later in the season. Red Bull took new parts to Austria, just like this week to Silverstone. But after that the car will not change much anymore, because the team shifts attention to the car before 2026-, which must be designed from zero due to a major change in line.
In the meantime, every race becomes clearer how problematic Red Bull’s current RB21 is. Managing the car is like performing a gymnastics exercise with an absurd high level of difficulty. Verstappen can still control the car somewhat and therefore get high scores with it; If he works, the RB21 is good. Other riders simply choke on all the racing acrobatics needed to tame the car.
Take Yuki Tsunoda, Verstappens teammate since Liam Lawson was sent away in April. The Japanese started in Austria almost at the back – again – and finished after a messy race on two laps behind the last. “I tried everything, but nothing worked,” said tsunodawhose car ‘the tires’, and ’round after round had less grip’.
The driver himself, it is now clear, is not very fond of blame. “He’s not a pancake,” Verstappen said recently About Tsunoda, who indeed proved earlier in his career that he is a strong rider. Just like his predecessors Sergio Pérez, Alexander Albon and Pierre Gasly, who have a great list outside Red Bull.
The development path that Red Bull has taken in recent years initially led to cars that – although difficult to control – felt perfectly for Verstappen. But after some wrong design choices, the course has now yielded a model in which even the world champion no longer feels comfortable, let alone other F1 riders who do not reach its level.
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For example, a painful reality is urged: without Verstappen, Red Bull Racing is a team in the rear. And exactly about such a future without Verstappen it was buzzing with rumors last week. Verstappen would be about to To leave for Mercedes from 2026, the Italian branch of Sky Sports reported.
Flirting with Mercedes
There is fuel for such messages. Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has already courted Verstappen. And now it is that Mercedes driver George Russell has still not received a contract extension for next year despite his formidable performance this season. Russell said last week that this is because Mercedes the possibility wants to keep open To capture Verstappen – what Wolff did not deny a day later to journalists.
On the other hand: in Formula 1, teams and drivers are continuously in conversation, scanning each other, their market value investigating, and lurking on opportunities for future deals. Whether Verstappen really wants to – and can, in view of his contract until 2028 at Red Bull – only know those directly involved.
A logical moment to switch is 2026 not necessarily. Not only the cars are completely different, the engine regulations are also being overhauled. Anyone who has the best combination early next year cannot be said. In that respect, Verstappen would better wait another year to see how the ranking is falling.
Thursday responded Verstappen opposite Journalists on Silverstone, back in the wooden team building, shortened on all rumors. “I am not talking about my contract. No decision has been made at the moment.” And Russell? Those says he is “no worries”: “The chance that I will not ride at Mercedes next year is, in my opinion, exceptionally small.”