Helmut Marko fears Max Verstappen exit after Red Bull’s Bahrain GP struggles

Helmut Marko has expressed fears over Max Verstappen wanting to leave Red Bull amid their torrid F1 Bahrain Grand Prix performance.

Verstappen finished sixth in Sunday’s race in Bahrain, 34.3s behind race winner Oscar Piastri.

Without the Safety Car, the result could have been much worse for Verstappen and Red Bull.

Two slow pit stops and a switch to the unfavoured hard tyre meant that Verstappen struggled to challenge Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Haas’ Esteban Ocon, who were running ahead of him during the middle part of the race.

Despite Red Bull’s lack of performance relative to McLaren in the early part of the year, Verstappen remains in title contention.

Verstappen is just eight points behind Lando Norris after four rounds in 2025.

In an interview with Sky Germany after the race, Marko was asked how worried he was that Verstappen could decide to leave the team if there were no signs of improvement.

“Those are very big,” Marko replied. “Improvements have to be made in the near future so that he has a car he can win with.

“It shouldn’t be a fluke, like in the rain in Brazil or in Japan. There the track came to him and he set a magic lap. There has to be a stable base.”

While Verstappen is contracted to Red Bull until the end of 2028, his future has continued to be a hot topic since the start of last year.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff spoke publicly about being interested in signing Verstappen as their replacement for Lewis Hamilton.

However, with Verstappen unwilling to make the move, Kimi Antonelli was handed the drive.

For 2026, Mercedes have still yet to decide their driver line-up.

Given Russell’s starring performances, his future is likely guaranteed, while Antonelli is seen as Mercedes’ very own Verstappen-like talent.

Marko demands progress

With McLaren enjoying a strong start to the season, Verstappen’s position in the championship standings will only likely worsen as the year progresses.

Marko has ruled out any serious challenge for the title based on Red Bull’s current level of performance.

“It is clear: we need to make progress,” Marko added. “Not progress in points, but on the stopwatch.

“And with a performance like we are putting in now, unfortunately, nothing will come of the world championship.”