F1 is an exclusive sport, with just 10 teams in the club today. However, in its long storied history, the paddock has been home to 172 different teams. Some names, like Ferrari and McLaren, have been around since day one, while others, like Lotus and Benetton, have pretty much vanished into thin air.
According to Tom Clarkson, Red Bull could soon join that dreaded list.
Benetton, once upon a time, was a formidable team, led by a young Michael Schumacher who won his first two titles with them. However, when he left for Ferrari in 1996, the Enstone-based team faltered, prompting Benetton to eventually exit the sport in 2001, which is when Renault took over and renamed the outfit.
If Max Verstappen decides to leave Red Bull in the future, the Milton Keynes-based outfit could go through something similar, according to Clarkson.
“If Max were to leave on a performance clause at the end of the year, if they don’t get the job done, I see a lot of parallels I think between what would happen at Red Bull as to what happened at Benetton in the mid 90s when Michael Schumacher left that team,” the F1 journalist said on the F1 Nation podcast.
Verstappen has conquered the world of F1 with Red Bull. With four back-to-back championships, he couldn’t have envisioned a much better career for himself elsewhere. But Red Bull is showing signs of entering a long slump and is no longer among the favorites to win. Will Verstappen still want to drive for them?
Clarkson feels the Dutchman is the ‘gel’ holding the team together in a time of crisis. Even when off-track drama—for instance, the Christian Horner scandal from 2024—would hit the team, everyone would look at Verstappen for hope.
As such, the presence of a strong leader like Verstappen is vital. But with the RB21 showing signs of weakness heading into the 2025 season, is an exit on the horizon for the 27-year-old?
Is Verstappen still angling a move to Mercedes?
Throughout 2024, there were rumors of Verstappen considering a move away from Red Bull. He was most strongly linked to Mercedes, with Team Principal Toto Wolff genuinely interested in securing his signature—something that Season 7 of Drive to Survive covered extensively.
Wolff even admitted that he hadn’t pursued the Dutchman seriously before due to a promise he had made to Lewis Hamilton. But with the #44 driver having departed, the Austrian made a serious attempt to sign him.
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In the end, Verstappen committed to Red Bull, with whom he has a contract until 2028. Wolff, meanwhile, turned his attention to Kimi Antonelli, who will line up as a Mercedes driver this season.
However, if Red Bull fails to produce a championship-worthy car once the new regulations take effect in 2026, Verstappen could seriously consider other options—and Wolff would be more than happy to facilitate that.
Jos Verstappen, his father, has denied such claims, but in F1, you can never truly say never.
