Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has expressed “great concerns” over Max Verstappen’s future at the powerhouse team as the RB21 struggles to keep pace with rival cars.
The reigning four-time world champion is signed with Red Bull until 2028, but his contract contains a performance clause that would allow him to leave the team – but the exact nature and wording of the clause is not public knowledge.
However, according to Mail Sport, Verstappen would be allowed to leave Red Bull if he slipped lower than third on the drivers’ standings. The Dutchman is currently third on the standings, eight points behind leader Lando Norris of McLaren.
Mercedes and Aston Martin are reportedly the leading candidates for Verstappen should he choose to jump ship.
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When asked about Verstappen’s future at Red Bull, Marko told Sky Germany: “The concern is great. Improvements have to come in the near future so that he has a car with which he can win again.
“We have to create a basis with a car so that he can fight for the world championship.”
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Verstappen has identified several problems with the Red Bull’s car this season, including unpredictability on corner entry and mid-corner understeer, while the team has struggled to correlate between wind tunnel and on-track performance.
Asked about the team’s performance, Marko continued: “Very alarming. We know that we are not competitive, and there will be parts coming in the coming races, and hopefully they bring improvement.
“We have a lot of problems. The main problem is balance and grip, and out of this, I guess the problems with the brakes came up. Then the normal procedure like a pitstop is not working, so one (problem) comes after the other.
“We have to get, as soon as possible, performance in the car again and also standards like a pitstop have to work. The car is not the fastest and then the pitstops are not working. That is not acceptable.”
Red Bull were all at sea in the Bahrain desert this weekend, with Verstappen unable to replicate his win in Japan, finishing sixth.
Yuki Tsunoda, in only his second run out for the Austrian outfit after replacing Liam Lawson in Suzuka last weekend, picked up his first points for his new team in ninth.
But team principal Christian Horner did not cherry coat the performance.
“Look, it was a bad weekend for the team, nothing went our way from the start of the race,” he acknowledged.
“We didn’t get off the line cleanly, and pit stops didn’t work well for us today.”
Red Bull’s 2025 car is proving an awkward customer – just ask Lawson who was ruthlessly demoted to the team’s sister outfit RB after the first two races.
Verstappen was constantly taking issue with the brakes on his car in Sakhir.
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“He’s not getting any bite or feel from the pedal, and of course it’s such an important tool that gives the driver so much feedback,” Horner said.
He had a positive assessment though of Tsunoda’s performance.
“I thought actually Yuki has had a very solid weekend, he qualified in the top ten, finished in the points today, he drove pretty well.
“He was only 12 or 14 seconds behind his teammate, so I thought Yuki’s race was actually reasonably good.”
Looking ahead, the Briton said: “If you’ve got a well-balanced car, the whole thing just comes together that much easier.
“It’s a 24-race championship, we’re eight points behind in the drivers’ championship, and we know we need to make progress very quickly.”
Red Bull will be seeking to get back on track when Formula 1 travels to the other side of the Arabian peninsula next weekend for the last leg of a triple-header in Jeddah.