Concerns mount at Red Bull after Verstappen’s ‘catastrophe’ as F1 heads to Saudi Arabia

Max Verstappen and Red Bull are one of Formula 1’s all-time most successful partnerships. But a disastrous race has raised concerns Verstappen could consider a move elsewhere.

Following the Bahrain Grand Prix, Verstappen talked of a "catastrophe" as he listed the problems. The defending world champion had to cope with tires overheating, brake problems and two different pit stop delays. At one stage, he was briefly last before finishing sixth.

Red Bull’s influential motorsport adviser Helmut Marko has previously indicated there’s a performance-related clause in Verstappen’s contract, which is officially dated to 2028. The specifics aren’t public but Marko indicated to the BBC last month a clause could come into play "if we don't deliver for Max."

Red Bull seemed to have the fourth-fastest car in Bahrain, behind McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes.

Asked by Sky Sport Germany after the Bahrain race Sunday if he had concerns that Verstappen might consider his future, Marko said: "The (concern) is great … improvements need to come in the near future so that he once again has a car that he can win with."

Verstappen signaled his unhappiness with a key team decision last month. He "liked" an Instagram post by ex-F1 driver Giedo van der Garde which suggested it was a "panic move" to replace Liam Lawson as his teammate after two races of the season.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff expressed interest in a potential move last year. Both of his drivers are only confirmed to be under contract for this year. Verstappen has hinted at leaving F1 someday, saying last year he'd "passed halfway for sure" in his career and dislikes the busy schedule.

Marko suggested Sunday that Verstappen's most recent wins in the rain in Brazil and after a stunning qualifying lap in Japan had come despite the car, not because of it. He added that Red Bull needed to create "a base level" of performance "so that he can fight for the world championship."

After two record-breaking years of dominance for Verstappen and Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, Red Bull fell behind McLaren on pace partway through the season in 2024. Verstappen won only two of the last 14 races but still retained the title. McLaren won the constructors’ championship.

The regulations are largely unchanged since 2022 and there are competing theories for Red Bull’s decline.

Verstappen said last year that Red Bull had turned a winning car "into a monster" in its attempts to squeeze more pace out of the design. His then-teammate Sergio Perez made similar claims when his results fell off dramatically.

There are also questions over the effect of car design guru Adrian Newey leaving or whether Red Bull has simply reached the limits of the car’s basic concept.

Marko said the team mismanaged Friday practice sessions, meaning unpleasant surprises like Verstappen lacking grip on hard tires in Bahrain. Those "Black Fridays" need to end, Marko said.

Probably not this week.

The Saudi Arabian GP in Jeddah on Sunday could bring more issues with heat, though Verstappen expects less tire wear than in Bahrain. Upgrades are expected for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix at the Imola circuit in Italy on May 18.

"We had some issues that set us back,” Verstappen said in a team statement Tuesday, “and we still have a lot of work to do on the car to get us where we need to be.”