Max Verstappen had a disastrous outing in Bahrain last weekend as he only managed to finish sixth, over 34 seconds behind race winner Oscar Piastri. Definitely not the kind of result he would have expected in a season where he’s chasing his fifth consecutive championship.
This disappointing result reportedly led to Red Bull holding an emergency meeting. Once the meeting concluded, Sky Sports’ Ted Kravitz made a shocking revelation about Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko seemingly having a rift with Verstappen’s manager, Raymond Vermeulen.
“At the end of the race, I was waiting around here for some team principals, and Raymond Vermeulen, Max’s manager, came into the Red Bull garage and gave Helmut Marko what can only be described as a piece of his mind,” Kravitz said.
However, Dutch journalist Jack Plooij believes these claims are baseless. He recently explained that Marko and Vermeulen — who he labeled as great friends — were not having a quarrel but were instead discussing how team principal Christian Horner is the one who needs to take responsibility for the team’s poor performances so far.
“I think Raymond Vermeulen, his manager, was trying to get on the same level with Marko because he and Marko are big friends,” Plooij said on the Red Flags podcast.
“Marko gave the big deal to Max Verstappen. So I think it’s not a quarrel between them. It’s just equalizing all the energy which has to go to the team boss. Team boss is the guy who should be blamed, not Helmut Marko.”
While it remains unclear what they discussed, Verstappen’s concerns are quite straightforward. He has repeatedly voiced his frustration with the poor handling of the RB21, but those concerns seem to have fallen on deaf ears, as Red Bull’s struggles appear to be compounding rather than being resolved.
Verstappen keluhkan tidak ada grip di bannya. pic.twitter.com/NhVAKImqQo
— F1 Speed Indonesia (@f1speed_indo) April 13, 2025
With such being the dire situation Red Bull is currently facing, Marko has also explicitly said that the team faces the serious concern of losing Verstappen.
Aston Martin had already expressed their interest in signing the Dutchman at the start of this year by reportedly offering him a $1 billion deal, and it seems that they may offer him another deal if he becomes available.
Until last year, Mercedes were also keen on signing Verstappen. However, their interest seems to have faded after they replaced seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton with Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who appears to have hit the ground running in no time.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has also stated that he is happy with his current driver line-up and has no plans to alter the team dynamics. Plus, George Russell is reportedly set to sign a new $30 million deal with the team, all but closing the door on a potential Verstappen switch.
All signs now seem to point toward Aston Martin as the only viable destination for Verstappen—if he is indeed looking to leave Milton Keynes at the end of this season.
