Verstappen in the crisis: Radical restart announced at Red Bull!

Verstappen in the crisis: Radical restart announced at Red Bull!

Österreich, Land - Max Verstappen, the current Formula 1 driver of Red Bull, faces a difficult phase in his career. After nine races in the current 2025 season, he is 49 points behind the World Cup leading Oscar Piatri and has found remarkable weaknesses in his car, which he did not have to experience before. Verstappen is frustrated about the current Situation and expresses concerns about the performance of the team that is under pressure to be leading again. In view of the challenges, team boss Christian Horner has announced a “restart” for the next season. He emphasizes that it would be arrogant to believe that Red Bull could catch up with the best teams, especially if you consider the decades of experience of competitors such as Ferrari, Mercedes, Audi and Honda. Verstappen, on the other hand, sees itself in a comfortable but insecure location, since its options for a team change are strongly limited. [ Derwesten.de ]

contractual situation and transfer rumors

Verstappen has an exit clause that would theoretically give him a change of team for the 2026 season. However, this clause expires if it stays under the top 4 of the driver's ranking until the end of the upcoming weekend. He is currently taking third place in this evaluation, something that brings him into a privileged but also tense situation, as this could have an impact on his future at Red Bull. [ Motorsport.com ]

Although rumors about a move to Aston Martin circulated in winter, this speculation seems to have now laid. Nevertheless, stubborn discussions about a possible move to Mercedes, especially initiated by the upcoming contract negotiations of the team with George Russell. The status of Russell remains uncertain, since Mercedes expects a quick solution to the talks and a restructuring in the driver constellation is in the room. [ Motorsport.com ]

statistics and records

In the context of his previous successes, Verstappen is not only one of the youngest drivers who have won in Formula 1, but also keeps remarkable records. He achieved most of the victories in a row in one season and most of the Grand Slam services. In 2023 he scored 575 points, most of them ever in one season, which underpins his status as one of the most dominant drivers in the history of sport. [ wikipedia ]

The performance of Verstappen and the current team structure at Red Bull are under observation. While the immediate future of the driver remains uncertain, both the sporting and contractual aspects have decisive relevance for the upcoming competitions. The upcoming races will show whether Verstappen can keep his position in the driver's ranking and what strategic decisions he will make to lead his career in Formula 1. [ Derwesten.de ]