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Max Verstappen and Red Bull went through something at Zandvoort that could only be described as a treatment they had given their rivals for the last few years. The driver started the race on the front row alongside Lando Norris. After jumping into the lead at the start, Max found himself being chased down and overtaken with ease by Landos.
What followed was a dominant display of pace and consistency from the McLaren driver. In a heavily upgraded car, Lando Norris just started stretching his legs, and by the time the race was done, he was more than 20 seconds ahead of Max Verstappen.
Verstappen still has a healthy lead in the championship, and with 9 races left, one should back him to fend off Norris. Having said that, there were a few factors during the Dutch GP that almost made it clear that the Red Bull-Max Verstappen marriage is heading for a divorce.
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Red Bull's car issues have no quick fix
Max Verstappen had a very 'matter-of-fact' answer when questioned about the fact that Red Bull did not have the fastest car anymore. The driver felt that this was something that was just a part of the sport. Sometimes you have a dominant car and sometimes you cannot win a race every time.
In retrospect, the answer makes sense, but what lies ahead is a tumultuous period where Max has to defend his championship lead and almost hope that Lando Norris does not catch up. One thing is clear, Red Bull is not going to turn this around in a day, a week, or a month.
This hole that the team finds itself in is going to take some time to dig out of. Contrary to what appears to be a popular belief, Max Verstappen is not someone who does not understand the reality of the situation. But how much will his patience hold when Lando continues to eat into his lead? It's a test that maybe Red Bull is not ready for.
McLaren's form will further increase pressure
The biggest problem for Red Bull and Max Verstappen at this stage is that the team is in a mode where it has to experiment with different solutions in order to find performance. On the other side of the grid, there is McLaren, who might not have brought too many modifications to the car this season but whenever it has, it has seen growth and progress.
McLaren has stated that the team already has further upgrades in the pipeline, and should this continue to give the team the much-needed gains, it's going to further put pressure on the Max Verstappen-Red Bull partnership. Especially since the 70-point gap is big but not unattainable.
Christian Horner and Helmut Marko cannot appear to reach the same page
Now comes the more serious part of the equation. It does appear that neither Christian Horner nor Helmut Marko are on the same page when it comes to anything.
Before the start of the F1 Dutch GP race weekend, Marko claimed that Liam Lawson would be in a Red Bull car (one of the 4 cars, including RB). Later in the weekend, Christian Horner would rebuke the statement and claim that the team could loan Liam Lawson in 2025 but there is no guarantee of a seat in any of the four seats.
This is not the first time that Christian Horner has refuted something that Helmut Marko has claimed. More than that, this is a sign of a unit that's just not cohesive anymore. Max Verstappen has already made it clear where his allegiance is when it comes to these internal politics. He's made it a point to stress the fact that the team needs to act as a united front. That's just not happening at this stage, and when that is the case, it just gives further incentive to Max to leave Red Bull for good.
The Toto Wolff/Max Verstappen/Jos Verstappen factor
Finally, and maybe the most important factor, is the growing mutual admiration between Max Verstappen and Toto Wolff. What was rather surprising for anyone watching was the Mercedes boss claiming that there was a meeting during the summer break between the Dutch driver and the German team.
What was even more surprising was Max Verstappen choosing to deflect the question about the meeting instead of outright denying it.
For Christian Horner, this is just a disaster waiting to happen, as the Mercedes boss and Max Verstappen appear to have hashed out a lot of their differences. What we have now is a situation where Red Bull's lead driver has probably had a meeting with a rival team.
The fact that this comes at a time when Red Bull seems to be regressing while Mercedes is a team that has won two of the last 4 races is not a good thing either.
Finally, to add to this, the fact that Jos Verstappen is quite public in his disdain for the current Christian Horner-run Red Bull is also a sign of things that maybe in the background Max Verstappen would have his father in his ear, suggesting that a move to Mercedes would be the right one.
Conclusion
Max Verstappen has been with Red Bull ever since he made his debut. Having said that, as is often the case in F1, relationships reach their expiration date. The fact that the team appears to be on the back foot and will surely take some time to bounce back is something that Max Verstappen would be aware of.
He's also had discussions with Toto Wolff and seemingly developed an amicable relationship with the Austrian. At the same time, his father, Jos Verstappen, is not a huge fan of how things are going at Red Bull and has made it public far too many times as well.
When you add all that up, you have a marriage that looks vulnerable at best. Whether it is at the end of this season or the next, it does appear that the Red Bull-Verstappen marriage is heading for a divorce.
