Formula 1 embankment for Red Bull
Verstappen writes off titles – “Legend almost unexcibly”
Red Bull experiences a disaster at the Austria home game. A fifth World Cup title is far away for Max Verstappen. That should influence his future planning.
With its own eyes, the Red Bull lead season had to be frustrated the upcoming end of a Formula 1 era. The flash of Max Verstappen in the opening round at the home game in Spielberg was probably the clearest sign that the Dutchman had to bury the vague hope of his fifth World Cup title in succession.
“This is a very black day, the deficit is almost unrestricted,” motorsport consultant Helmut Marko formulated after the Red Bull disaster, which should have become clear to everyone in the billion dollar company. “If something extraordinary does not happen, we have to assume that the World Cup is gone.”
“We don’t fight for the World Cup anyway”
Marko did not mean the opportunities in the design classification. Because there Red Bull is fourth astronomical 255 points behind the new McLaren industry leader. Marko meant the chances of his pupil Verstappen in the driver’s ranking. And there the dominator of the past four years has already had 61 points less than World Cup leader Oscar Piatri from Australia, which is driving the toning McLaren.
“We are not fighting for the World Cup anyway,” said Verstappen on the TV broadcaster Sky, after Mercedes-Teenager Kimi Antonelli had unintentionally cleared him off the route shortly after the start. What might sound defiant was just realistic. This painful message will also have arrived at Red Bull Managing Director Oliver Mintzlaff and especially with the son of the co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz, Mark Mateschitz, who died in October 2022.
Only Schumacher won five World Cup titles in a row
Formula 1 is determined by cycles. The Red Bull wave of success should finally come to an end in the year before the control revolution with new engines. Only Juan Manuel Fangio, Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton and Verzstappen were able to get four titles one after the other. Only Michael Schumacher fulfilled the dream of fifth triumph in a series. And that should stay that way for some time.
This is ensured by McLaren, whose upswing again found his preliminary highlight after 16 years of dry spell in 2024.
Red Bull team boss: “I really don’t understand”
“You managed to build a car that protects the tires very well and has a good balance,” praised Red Bull team boss Christian Horner, praising the competition in Papaya and referring to the tight, round-long McLaren two-fighter between Lando Norris and Piatri in Spielberg. “I can not imagine any other car that would be able to follow the other so close without the front or rear tires. I really don’t understand that,” admitted Horner.
Red Bull has not succeeded in such a construction. This is precisely why the services of Verstappen are to be evaluated even higher, which thanks to his tax art could still drive a stubborn car to two season wins. “We always try to do our best. My mentality does not change,” said the 27-year-old Dutch.
What is going on between Verstappen and Mercedes?
Red Bull’s descent ensures that Verstappen thinks about his future. Despite a contract until the end of 2028. Despite the close connection to his home racing stable. But Verstappen wants a car that enables him to make a constant victory.
His dissatisfaction, in turn, opens up space for speculation. For example, for switching to Mercedes, which should be far ahead in the development of the drive trains for 2026 and would like to have the four -time world champion in their own ranks.
Verstappen’s contract has exit clauses
“There is a contract until 2028. The contract has exit clauses that are performance -related,” Marko spoke about the key data in the partnership with Verstappen. “According to the current status, there is no reason to doubt that the contract is fulfilled.”
Red Bull has lost a variety of top forces in recent years, from Top Engineer Rob Marshall (McLaren) to Design-Genie Adrian Newey (Aston Martin) to sports director Jonathan Wheatley (kick clean). Stops could go next.
dpa
Source: Stern
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
