Doubts cast over Max Verstappen's stay at Red Bull as former Ferrari man questions if the Dutch driver would 'continue to have difficulty winning'

Former Ferrari man Gerhard Berger feels Max Verstappen's future at Red Bull could be in jeopardy if the team doesn't show the necessary improvements to win. The 2024 F1 season was somewhat enigmatic for the Austrian team with the squad embroiled in a political battle at the start.

The squad was divided into two factions, Verstappen's family and Helmut Marko on one side inside the team and Red Bull boss Christian Horner on the other. When tensions dissipated on that front, the on-track issues took center stage.

While Red Bull started the season as the best car on the grid, by Miami, McLaren had caught up with it. From that point onward, wins became harder and harder to come by as Verstappen saw his rivals' challengers get better while his car regressed.

While Red Bull showed a certain level of resurgence after its Austin upgrade and Max Verstappen won the races in Brazil and Qatar, the car was still third best overall behind Ferrari and McLaren. Heading into the 2025 F1 season, to the surprise of many, McLaren's Lando Norris is touted as the odds-on favorite to win the championship, considering the Austrian team's struggles.

Talking to AMuS, Gerhard Berger also touched on this and said that the team would have to bounce back because if Verstappen cannot win with the car, he could look elsewhere. The Austrian said:

"Max Verstappen is the best driver, no question about it. But before that, the best driver was in the best team. In the meantime, Max takes the coals out of the fire. Now it will be exciting to see whether Red Bull can return to its old strength or whether Verstappen will continue to have difficulty winning. Then he will think about whether he is still on the right team."

When asked who he preferred to replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull with, Berger felt that he would rather have gone with Carlos Sainz to partner Verstappen.

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Berger would have picked Carlos Sainz as Max Verstappen's teammate

Carlos Sainz was on the market last season when the call was eventually made not to give him a shot. Talking to AMuS, Gerhard Berger felt that Max Verstappen's new teammate Liam Lawson was a capable enough driver but had not gained enough experience. He said:

"There's probably no one who can really give him steam. But I would definitely have taken Carlos Sainz. Although I don't think it's bad that they put Lawson next to Max, even though it might have been better for the young lad to gain more experience at Toro Rosso first."

The 2025 F1 season could be crucial in the Verstappen-Red Bull partnership because if the car is not competitive enough to fight for the title, the Dutch driver would not think twice before moving to a better-performing squad.