Sebastian Vettel’s advice for Max Verstappen: “Stick together” amid F1 uncertainty
“But now is the time where you stick together and you have the chance to bounce back.”
Sebastian Vettel has advised Max Verstappen and Red Bull to “stick together” amid their inconsistent start to the 2025 F1 season.
After five rounds, Verstappen sits just 12 points behind Oscar Piastri in the F1 drivers’ championship.
The Dutchman narrowly missed out on a second win of the season last time out in Saudi Arabia.
Verstappen starred in qualifying, taking pole position, before finishing second in the race.
Verstappen ultimately lost the race after receiving a five-second time penalty for going off the track when trying to keep the position when battling Piastri on Lap 1.
Even though Verstappen is in F1 title contention, his future has been a hot topic.
Verstappen has been heavily linked with a move to Aston Martin, while Mercedes expressed serious interest in him last year as they looked for a Lewis Hamilton replacement.
Vettel, who faced a similar dilemma in 2014 at Red Bull, offered his view on Verstappen’s future.
“I think it’s the time when you really bond. It’s the time, after so many years, you are so close to each other,” Vettel told Sky Sports in Saudi Arabia.
“Some people left and some people came, but whether you win championships or not is happening anyways, it’s the nature of F1.
“But now is the time where you stick together and you have the chance to bounce back.”
2025 “a decisive year” for Verstappen
Vettel praised Verstappen, describing him as “the strongest at the moment” on the 2025 F1 grid.
While Red Bull have generally been behind McLaren in performance terms over the last year, no other driver has won more races than Verstappen in the last 12 months.
“Max has incredible talent, he has matured so much over the last couple of years,” Vettel explained.
“I think the way he’s constructing his races now is different to the past. It’s much smarter. The progression he’s made, it's not the lap time or total performance.
“It’s more the consistency, the reliability that he’s there every time. The time he’s taking sometimes to do the move, waiting for when it’s the right time to wait. He sees the race in front, the opportunities he gets. If he doesn’t get the opportunity, then he’s back to the aggression.
“He has very good control of himself, and that makes him the strongest at the moment in the grid.
“Mixing those two, the aggression and the experience, together with the natural speed. it’s great to watch and obviously a decisive year for him.”
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