Jos Verstappen provides cause for concern over Max’s Red Bull future
"A change is not ruled out..."
Jos Verstappen has refused to rule out a Red Bull exit for his son Max Verstappen.
Max enters 2025 seeking a fifth consecutive F1 championship but knowing his task is harder than ever.
Although he clung onto the 2024 title with a series of brilliant drives, McLaren significantly closed the gap to the previously dominant Red Bull.
It means that Verstappen might look elsewhere in his pursuit for the best possible car.
"Anything is possible,” his father Jos is quoted by Sky Germany.
“He can stay at Red Bull if he sees a sense in it.
“His goal is to be able to win races. If he is of the opinion that this is no longer possible at Red Bull, a change is not ruled out."
Red Bull conceded the constructors’ championship to McLaren, and ultimately finished third behind Ferrari too.
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri of McLaren, and a revitalised Ferrari who will boast Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, will be seeking to claim Verstappen’s drivers’ crown in 2025.
His father’s worrying verdict: "Red Bull has to build a car that is no longer so difficult to drive.
“If you look at the second half of 2024, you can't be optimistic.
"Red Bull has a big task ahead of it in 2025."
Will Max Verstappen quit Red Bull?
Mercedes were credited with an interest in Verstappen last year, when Toto Wolff talked up the possibility of signing him to replace Hamilton.
Verstappen was, at the time, caught up in the internal furore at Red Bull which engulfed his father, Helmut Marko and Christian Horner.
Horner and Wolff also traded barbs over the Mercedes boss’ public flirting with Verstappen.
But George Russell and Kimi Antonelli have since been confirmed as an exciting new driver duo for Mercedes, whose 2026 hopes are high for the new era of F1 regulations because paddock whispers suggest they have an engine to envy.
Aston Martin could also be an intriguing option for Verstappen.
Their signing of car design guru Adrian Newey is intended to give them a quick start to the new generation from 2026, which might pique Verstappen’s interest.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
