Max Verstappen's father Jos Verstappen termed a 'warmonger' by former F1 driver as pressure mounts on Red Bull

Max Verstappen's father, Jos Verstappen, has been termed a 'warmonger' by former F1 driver Johnny Herbert as pressure continues to mount on Red Bull. The reigning champions started the season positively and in a dominant fashion in Bahrain, securing pole and a 1-2 finish.

While that form continued for a while, it all came to a halt when McLaren introduced a major upgrade in Miami. Lando Norris won the race as Red Bull and Max Verstappen ceased to a dominant force. Slowly and steadily, the competition has increased, as, not only the Woking-based squad but Mercedes and Ferrari have also won races since then.

What did however come as a major blow for Red Bull was at Zandvoort, where Norris obliterated the field. He finished more than 20 seconds ahead of Verstappen (who was P2), in a dominant display.

Since that race, Jos Verstappen has been critical of Red Bull and its leadership. Talking about the situation in the team and the unrest, Johnny Herbert feels Jos played the role of a 'warmonger' and isn't happy with how things are in the team, telling Poker Apps LTD:

“The warmonger has been Jos. He has been very much at the forefront of criticism of the Red Bull set up and Christian especially. Can they promise him enough for the coming years? I’m not so sure.

"I think there is a big question mark on what they are able to show Max in terms of the direction that will allow him to carry on trying to win those world championships."

He added:

“Because of that and because of the way Jos is and because of the way Max is, they are probably doubting the position that they’re in at the present time because it’s fallen off of the cliff very quickly, very, very quickly."

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Red Bull and Max Verstappen should be wary of Mercedes threat

Johnny Herbert also feels that Red Bull need not be wary of Mercedes' threar to Max Verstappen, especially since the German team was rumored to have made progress for the 2026 F1 season.

The former driver feels Toto Wolff would be foolish not to approach Verstappen, who's also expected to look around. Herbert said:

“The rumours are that Mercedes seem to be ahead of everybody else for the 2026 rule changes.

"That’s the type of trigger you would think that Max and his team would be saying, ‘Maybe we need to jump.’ I think it would be foolish if those conversations didn’t happen between Max and Mercedes. As an ex-driver, I think I would be trying to look to the future."

He added:

“Toto would be foolish if he did not further the conversation, and I think Max would be the right person for them for the future. Who would not want Max Verstappen?"

Max Verstappen has a contract with Red Bull until the end of the 2028 F1 season. Nevertheless, there are many exit clauses in place depending on the performance of the team.

If there's a point where Red Bull fall below a threshold, the Dutchman could potentially make a move out of the team.