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Rumours have circulated about Max Verstappen’s future with Red Bull, but he has no immediate plans to leave.
Red Bull teammates, Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen. (Image Credit: @redbullracing on X)In Formula 1’s recent rounds – particularly Imola and Monaco – Red Bull have struggled. The RB20 is known to underperform at circuits that are low-speed and feature tight, twisty turns.
Red Bull’s Imola and Monaco difficulties
Despite qualifying in pole position and winning the 2024 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, Verstappen had to work hard for his victory. The Dutchman had performance issues throughout all three practice sessions, running off the circuit on multiple occasions.
Neither Red Bull driver featured in the top three on the timing boards during Imola’s practice sessions. Equally, Verstappen’s teammate, Sergio Perez struggled. He crashed out of the third practice session. Thus, going into qualifying, Red Bull was on the back foot.
As mentioned, Verstappen did achieve pole position and went on to win the grand prix, but was almost caught by Lando Norris’ McLaren at the end of the race. The Brit cut the gap between them from seven to 0.7 seconds.
Like in Imola, the only top-three finish for Red Bull in Monaco was during FP3, when Verstappen set the second-fastest lap time of the session. Perez had a shocking Qualifying and was out in Q1, starting from P16 on the grid. Verstappen qualified in P6, the same position he finished the race in.
More bad news for Red Bull came during the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix. Perez was taken out by the Haas of Kevin Magnussen on the ascent up to Beau Rivage. Helmut Marko estimated that it would cost the team between £2-3mil. This came just after the Red Bull Team Director shared that the team were experiencing their most challenging period in a long time.
Sergio Perez’s Red Bull is craned off the Circuit de Monaco following his lap one incident with the Haas drivers at the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix. (Image Credit: @redbullracing on X)McLaren maintain their momentum
McLaren’s performance has been impressive this season. Norris raced to his maiden F1 victory at the 2024 Miami Grand Prix, while his teammate, Oscar Piastri secured P2 in Monaco. Norris has been on the podium at half of the races, achieving P3 in Australia, P2 in China, P1 in Miami, and P2 in Imola.
Lando Norris celebrates his maiden F1 victory in Miami with a trophy selfie. (Image Credit: @LandoNorris on X)The Woking-based outfit is currently third in the Constructors’ Standings on 184 points. They are just 68 points behind Ferrari in P2. Their nearest competition – Mercedes – is 88 points behind them in P4. Norris sits in P3 of the Drivers’ Standings – 25 points behind P2, while Piastri is in P6 – 36 points behind P5.
Ferrari fight for wins
Despite being a driver down for the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Ferrari is still in P2 in the Constructors’ Standings. In Jeddah, Oliver Bearman made his F1 debut and replaced Carlos Sainz, who was in surgery for appendicitis. Bearman finished in P7, securing six points for the Italian outfit.
Both Ferrari drivers have a strong podium record this season. Additionally, both drivers have won a race in 2024. Sainz achieved P3 in Bahrain, P1 in Australia, P3 in Japan, and P3 in Monaco. His teammate, Charles Leclerc achieved P3 in Saudi Arabia, P2 in Australia, P3 in Miami, P3 in Imola, and P1 in Monaco.
Charles Leclerc breaks the Monaco curse to win his home grand prix for Ferrari in 2024. (Image Credit: @ScuderiaFerrari on X)The Maranello-based outfit is closing the gap on Red Bull in the Constructors’ Standings, just 24 points behind the leaders. Furthermore, Leclerc is 31 points behind Verstappen, who currently leads the Drivers’ Championship.
Notwithstanding his absence from Jeddah, Sainz is in P4 of the Drivers’ Championship. The Spaniard is only five points behind Norris in P3 but is also only one point ahead of Perez in P5.
Verstappen wants to stay
In light of McLaren and Ferrari’s strong performances and Red Bull’s struggles, Verstappen has faced questions about his future with the team. As reported by RacingNews365, when asked if he would consider moving to McLaren due to the consistent pace of the MCL38, the Dutchman shared:
“Well, it doesn’t work that way. I think we still have a very, very fast car. And if you look at the average of the season so far, I think we have the fastest car. Otherwise you don’t lead the championship.”
The 26-year-old clarified that he does not currently intend to leave Red Bull. He stated:
“I’m happy with where I am now.”
He explained that the team is committed to improvements and is focused on potential upgrades and investments. The championship leader said:
“There is also so much investment in the engine. And I’m satisfied. We just have to keep working and trying to improve our package. That’s all I’m thinking about at the moment.”
Verstappen also argued that to have the best car in each race a driver would have to move teams constantly. He said:
“I think if you start thinking like that, you can change almost every race if you want to go to another team. But I’m not thinking about it.”
We’ve seen four different race winners across the eight rounds of 2024. Certainly, the RB20, the SF-24, and the MCL38 have all looked to be the strongest car in different races this year. Thus, the 2024 championship is proving more competitive than the previous year of Red Bull and Verstappen domination.
Featured Image Credit: @Max33Verstappen on X
