Max Verstappen’s future will be decided soon as an F1 icon claims that the Red Bull star’s next step will be announced imminently as retirement talk circles
Max Verstappen’s future will be resolved and announced as early as next month, claims an F1 icon.
The 28-year-old four-time world champion’s season has been overshadowed by speculation that he could either hang up his helmet to race in different disciplines or join a new team as Red Bull struggles to give him a race-winning car.
Verstappen came remarkably close to stealing the World Championship from under the nose of the two dominant McLaren drivers as he drove the wheels off the inferior Red Bull car to miss out on a fifth consecutive title by just two points last year. But so far this season, Red Bull have been unable to give Verstappen a car his hunger desires.
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Verstappen has failed to finish three Grand Prix already this season, but his crash at Silverstone stopped him from potentially landing a fourth podium finish in as many races.
Red Bull have been the fourth best car on the grid this year but the Dutchman’s brilliance still only leaves him 51 points behind George Russell in a leading Mercedes.
Verstappen has been heavily linked with a switch to Mercedes, as well as potentially being offered the world to spearhead Aston Martin’s ambitious project or join race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase at McLaren in the coming years.
However, he has also teased the possibility of retiring after slamming the new regulations that came into effect at the start of this year. Verstappen’s next move is the biggest story in F1 during the summer break, with the option of remaining at Red Bull not off the cards either.
Speaking to the Daily Star Sport via Compare.bet, six-time Grand Prix winner Riccardo Patrese claimed that Verstappen’s decision should be public in September, he said: “I am sure Max Verstappen and Red Bull are talking every day.
“I understand that if he wants to stay and if Red Bull want him to stay, they have to pay a lot of more money because he asked for something unbelievable in a new contract. I don’t know, much more than what is earning now. But he’s in the position where he can ask for this kind of thing.
“Nobody for sure at Red Bull wants him to go; so, Max can play games with other teams because he is in such a strong position. He’s talking to people all the time, he talks with everybody, including Toto and McLaren.
“We will find out in September, I am sure, because it’s the month where final decisions are taken.”
Verstappen finished P2 in Hungary in the final race weekend before the summer break, a place he was shocked to have been able to finish in due to the performance of his Red Bull compared to their rivals.
After the race, a stunned Verstappen said: “I was just like, ‘How the hell did I end up here? I was shocked. I’m actually still shocked.”
The result was even more of a surprise after Verstappen branded the car “completely broken” and getting “worse and worse” after a spin in Qualifying.