The 2025 Bahrain GP was the first indication of how torrid things have become within the Red Bull camp. The RB21’s limitations were on display for the entire paddock to see, and the 27-year-old could only muster a P6 finish at the chequered flag amid major chaos at the Milton Keynes-based outfit.
What ensued after the race has only confirmed the fact that the four-time world champion is not happy at Red Bull. In fact, his manager, Raymond Vermeulen, was even seen having a heated stand-off with team advisor Helmut Marko.
Crisis bells were ringing at the Austrian outfit as they reportedly called an emergency meeting after the events of the race last Sunday. And that’s natural, given how the RB21 troubled Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda throughout the Bahrain weekend in terms of its balance being all over the place.
Amid this, Red Bull’s worst fear may come true, as reports suggest that Verstappen will trigger his exit clause and leave the team at the end of the season.
Max Verstappen finds himself out of the top 2 in the world championship driver standings for the first time in 3 years ️ pic.twitter.com/U3p2y99i16
— Autosport (@autosport) April 14, 2025
At the start of the season, teams like Mercedes and Aston Martin were both in pursuit of the Dutchman. But it would now appear that the Silver Arrows have dropped out of the race to sign the 27-year-old, with Toto Wolff seemingly satisfied to lock in his current driver lineup with George Russell and Kimi Antonelli for the long term.
Dutch F1 journalist Erik van Haren has now revealed that likewise, Verstappen isn’t also that keen to think about a move away from the Bulls—at least for the time being.
“I just know that Verstappen is not busy at the moment. He is only busy with Red Bull and his GT3 activities with his team there,” he said whilst speaking to Telesport after the Bahrain GP.
Verstappen has himself maintained the same sentiments, as suggested by van Haren. Despite a difficult run of form since the 2024 Spanish GP, the #1 driver has been adamant that his loyalty lies with Red Bull.
But the current situation within the team, both on and off the track, might push Verstappen to reevaluate his priorities. Yet, many paddock experts, including former Haas F1 boss Guenther Steiner, believe that the four-time world champion will at least wait to see how the 2026 regulations pan out for the Bulls before showing his hand.
Of course, if Red Bull’s new power unit falls short of their performance expectations, Verstappen would definitely seek the exit door and pick the best available prospect among the other teams.
