The Red Bull camp recently has been facing internal turmoil, especially when it comes to their personnel. Adrian Newey is already on his way out and could trigger an exodus behind him. Various reports suggest Max Verstappen is also unhappy in Milton Keynes and may soon part ways with the team. Addressing the possibility, F1 expert Karun Chandhok believes the Dutchman will still be a Red Bull driver in 2025, but has an interesting career plan for him for the following years.
Appearing on the Sky Sports F1 Podcast, Chandhok detailed his expectations of Max Verstappen’s movement in the driver market. He claimed that while the #1 driver would remain with Red Bull in 2025, he could take a year off from F1 in 2026.
“I think Max [Verstappen] will stay at Red Bull for 2025. I think he will take 2026 off and have a year out – see what happens,” explained Chandhok.
Detailing his thinking further, Chandhok said that with changing regulations, Verstappen would want to assess the situation. Then, in 2027, the Dutch driver could return to F1 and perhaps join a new team based on their performance.
As things stand, Lewis Hamilton will be with Ferrari until the end of 2026. Should the Italian team be championship contenders, Verstappen could replace Hamilton in Maranello sometime in the future.
Or, he could also go back to Red Bull if they continue to be as dominant as they are now. Mercedes could be another viable option in Chandhok’s opinion, should the Silver Arrows achieve a complete resurgence. However, the chances of Verstappen joining Mercedes anytime soon seem bleak.
Max Verstappen delivers gut-wrenching blow to Mercedes
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has made signing Max Verstappen for his team a top priority in recent times. There were reports of the Brackley-based team offering a whopping $160 million deal to Verstappen.
max on going to mercedes: “my future is with redbull right now. i also hear amounts passing by. 150 million euros? for me it’s not about money. it’s about performance. because if i earned more and i would drive on the track for 6th or 5th place, i would be quite grumpy at the end… pic.twitter.com/rRkItiQPVF
— nini (@SCUDERIAFEMBOY) May 2, 2024
However, the Dutchman made it clear that money doesn’t interest him as much as winning does. Having been at Red Bull since his junior days, PlanetF1 reports Verstappen is in no mood to go back to square one. Claiming he doesn’t have the desire to “build up something new,” Verstappen is in favor of staying with his current employers.
Additionally, the 26-year-old rhetorically asked why one would want to leave from the best position on the grid. Verstappen then also added that he is currently in a place where he can continue for long, thereby killing all hopes for Mercedes and Toto Wolff.
