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Fans reacted as reports claimed that there was a heated moment between Max Verstappen's manager and Red Bull's advisor, Dr. Helmut Marko, after the end of the Bahrain GP. The Dutchman faced major issues throughout the race, from the overall subpar performance of the car and choosing the weaker tire after a stop.
The 2025 F1 Bahrain Grand Prix was a difficult ordeal for Verstappen, as he struggled throughout the weekend. He qualified down in P7 and faced major issues throughout the race. He complained about the hard compound tire, went through two slow pit stops after the start/stop light in the Red Bull garage failed, and complained about the car multiple times.
After finishing the race in P6, reports claimed that his manager, Raymond Vermeulen, had a heated conversation with Marko, even shouting at him. While this seems to be a difficult moment for the team's administration, fans on social media found it rather funny considering the rough words that Marko has used for other drivers for a long time. One fan wrote:
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"Refreshing to hear Helmut getting the same treatment he’d give his drivers"
"I'm glad to hear someone is putting the old man in his place. Really fudged it up now," another user mentioned.
"The downfall of this team needs to be studied," a comment read.
Some fans also feel that Max Verstappen could activate the exit clause in his contract considering the team's performance this year and join some other team in the future.
"I can see Max leaving at the end of this season," a fan commented.
"Max will be gone in 2026," a user claimed.
Another fan questioned, "Aston Martin or Mercedes which one is loading?"
Max Verstappen hopes for Red Bull to "improve soon" after disappointing Bahrain result
This race result was disappointing for the four-time World Champion, who is currently aiming to clinch his fifth consecutive title. His victory in Japan last week was promising and brought him close to Lando Norris for the lead in the standings.
However, RBR's performance in Bahrain does not reflect a positive future for the team. As Verstappen mentioned, "everything went wrong" for them.
"Basically everything went wrong!" Max Verstappen said (via F1). "We had a poor start, too much wheelspin when I dropped the clutch, and then the first stint again [I had] basically the same problems that I had in Qualifying, plus we were just overheating our tyres too much compared to the competition ahead of us."
"It’s of course not what we want, but it’s just where we are at with our car and the tyre behaviour that we have with the car. Everything is just highlighted even more on a track like this," Max Verstappen added.
Despite the team's poor performance, sided by speculation of Verstappen parting ways, the Dutchman mentioned that he is hoping to gradually improve throughout the length of the season.
"You have to hang on, try to improve the situation, but it was just a bit stuck at the moment and hopefully we can improve soon."
Max Verstappen has been the stronger driving force in the team so far in the season. Yuki Tsunoda replaced Liam Lawson after the first two races in Australia and China and scored his first points earlier today in Bahrain with a P9 finish.
