Timeline prediction made for Max Verstappen Red Bull exit decision
Max Verstappen's future with Red Bull in F1 continues to be a hot topic.
Ex-F1 driver Ralf Schumacher has put a timeline on when he believes Max Verstappen will make a decision about potentially leaving Red Bull.
The four-time world champion’s long-term F1 future continues to be the subject of intense speculation despite having a contract with Red Bull until 2028.
Verstappen has downplayed suggestions he could leave the team to join a rival outfit, but that has not stopped the rumour mill, especially after the Daily Mail reported in January that Aston Martin are willing to offer the Dutchman a staggering $1 billion deal for the rest of his career.
The reigning world champion has also been heavily linked with a switch to Mercedes over the past year and has been publicly courted by Toto Wolff, though the Silver Arrows chief recently said Verstappen is no longer on his team’s radar.
However, Schumacher has predicted that Verstappen will look to leave Red Bull if their tough start to the 2025 season continues and they are unable to improve their car over the coming races.
Verstappen currently sits second in the world championship, eight points behind McLaren’s Lando Norris, after finishing second and fourth in the opening two grands prix.
Red Bull are third in the constructors’ championship and 36 points adrift of reigning world champions McLaren and are struggling to get on top of their tricky-to-drive and uncompetitive RB21 challenger.
Speaking to the Formul1.de YouTube channel ahead of this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix, six-time grand prix winner Schumacher outlined his stance on Verstappen’s future.
"I think Max will leave the team. Especially if nothing happens in the next two, three or four races, because then the decision will be made," Schumacher predicted.
Max Verstappen’s future a hot topic
Schumacher is not the first member of the F1 paddock to wade in on Verstappen’s future.
McLaren boss Zak Brown stirred the pot by suggesting Verstappen will be looking to jump ship amid Red Bull’s troubles.
"I think he’ll leave at the end of this year,” Brown told The Telegraph. "Most likely to Merc. If I was bettering, I'd bet on Merc. In the last 10 years, they've won the championship seven or eight times.”
Meanwhile, former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner reckons Verstappen will first analyse the impact of the 2026 regulation overhaul before making any big decisions.
There is much intrigue over how Red Bull will fare in the new cycle of engine rules after embarking on a new partnership with Ford which will see the Milton Keynes outfit create their first ever in-house power unit.
Red Bull’s hugely successful partnership with Honda is coming to an end at the end of the current season, with the Japanese manufacturer instead joining forces with Aston Martin.
Mercedes are expected to produce a competitive power unit given their unprecedented success during the current V6 hybrid cycle.
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