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After a Bahrain GP where "everything went wrong" for Max Verstappen, rumors of his wanting to leave Red Bull emerged. A surprise contract clause also surfaced in the days to come that reportedly allows the four-time champ to leave the team if he remains outside the Top 3 in the championship standings for a significant part of the season.
In Bahrain, Red Bull was no longer in the fight for even a Top 5 finish. Verstappen could only manage an uncharacteristic P7 in qualifying, with drivers from four teams ahead of him. In the race, wheelspin hampered his launch off the grid, the tires on his RB21 heated quicker than his rivals, and Red Bull suffered two slow pit stops. The Dutchman would've finished where he started if not for a late pass on Pierre Gasly in the closing stages of the race.
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As per reports, Verstappen's manager Raymond Vermeulen had a heated argument with team advisor Helmut Marko after the race before storming off. This was enough for exit rumors to arise, a possibility that Marko himself admitted to.
Former IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe, who serves as an F1TV analyst and an IndyCar analyst for FOX, addressed Max Verstappen's potential Red Bull exit and evaluated the team options available to the Dutchman.
"He's probably not going to Mercedes because Antonelli's the chosen one, and Russell is pretty close to a new deal. Aston Martin makes the most sense because he loves Adrian Newey, Adrian loves him. He loves Honda, Honda loves him. Both those guys are there," Hinchcliffe said on the 'Off Track with Hinch and Rossi' podcast. [32:45 onwards]:
"The team's already said that for '26, our drivers are set. It's Fernando Alonso, who'll be hard to fire, and the owner's son, which'll be hard to fire. Not impossible, it is F1," he added.
The silver lining for Red Bull at Bahrain was Yuki Tsunoda's P9 finish, which was the best performance by a driver in that second seat since Sergio Perez's P7 finish at the US Grand Prix in October 2024.
Will Buxton has no doubts about Aston Martin being Max Verstappen's dream team
IndyCar commentator Will Buxton feels that Aston Martin is the only team capable of giving Max Verstappen the desired car for race wins and championships. The Lawrence Stroll-led team has Red Bull's former technical wizard, Adrian Newey, in whose cars Verstappen has won four F1 titles.
Buxton shared his opinion in a post on social media platform X, writing:
"Only one team can give Max the two things he loves the most in an F1 car - a Honda engine and an Adrian Newey design. IF he goes anywhere (and it’s still a big if) I’ve maintained for a while Aston Martin is the only team that makes sense."
With Fernando Alonso on the brink of retirement, Max Verstappen would be more likely to replace him over Lance Stroll. The Red Bull driver's current contract goes through till 2028.
