Red Bull Racing finds itself in an unusual position after the first two races of the season – looking up at McLaren and Mercedes in the standings. This isn’t just bad news for their championship hopes; it could have serious implications for keeping Max Verstappen on their team.
“Max wants a car that can always win. There are always performance clauses, and if we cannot deliver that, it will be difficult to keep him,” Helmut Marko admitted during a ServusTV interview.
The Red Bull advisor tried to downplay immediate concerns by pointing out “it’s only the second race,” but the message was clear: the team needs to act fast if they want their star driver to stay.
The situation became painfully obvious at the Chinese Grand Prix.
McLaren dominated with a one-two finish led by Oscar Piastri ahead of teammate Lando Norris.
Verstappen, meanwhile, couldn’t even make the podium. The four-time world champion finished fourth, almost 17 seconds behind Piastri despite driving what Marko called a “flawless” race.
“We have a technical deficit,” Marko acknowledged. “We have to figure out how to build a winning car again and within what time frame.”
The team isn’t sitting idle. A crisis meeting has already been scheduled at their Milton Keynes headquarters, with Verstappen set to attend.
But Marko, now 81, isn’t expecting any quick fixes.
“A quick update would be nice, but you can’t rely on that,” he cautioned.
For a team that dominated Formula 1 so thoroughly in recent seasons, this sudden competitive disadvantage has created real pressure – not just for this year’s results, but potentially for keeping the sport’s biggest star in their garage long-term.
