As the 2025 Formula One season is about to hit top gear, Jos Verstappen, the father of reigning World Champion, Max Verstappen, has thrown down the gauntlet to his son’s team, Red Bull Racing. He has emphatically stated that if Red Bull fails to retain the championship, the onus should squarely fall on the team, not Max Verstappen.
This stern warning comes ahead of the inaugural race of the season at Albert Park next Sunday, where the younger Verstappen aims to kick off his title defense with a maximum haul of 25 World Championship points.
Intriguingly, Red Bull’s trusted advisor, Helmut Marko, has pegged McLaren as probable frontrunners for the opening race. This assessment was based on the outcomes of the pre-season tests, where the Red Bull’s RB21 car was observed to lag behind during long runs.
“We were still two to three tenths behind in the long run,” conceded Marko, as Formula 1 wrapped up testing at the Bahrain circuit. He also pointed out that McLaren’s tyre wear was significantly better than what Red Bull’s data suggested.
Further solidifying Marko’s assertion, Red Bull’s technical maestro, Pierre Wache, echoed similar sentiments. He suggested that Red Bull might be trailing behind McLaren and possibly Ferrari in terms of speed in the long haul.
Despite the consensus that McLaren has the edge coming out of pre-season tests, the competition seems fierce among Red Bull, Ferrari, and Mercedes. This leads to a widely-held belief that the 2025 F1 Championship could see a four-way tussle for the Constructors’ Championship, putting Verstappen’s World title defense in jeopardy.
Recalling Verstappen’s feat last season, he clinched the championship with two races to spare, ending a 10-race winless streak. This year, however, the title race might go down to the wire.
Verstappen’s decision to stick with Red Bull for the 2025 F1 season has been under scrutiny. Speaking about this, Jos Verstappen revealed, “We have confidence in the team and we give them our trust, but it won’t be Max’s fault if things don’t go well. They must continue to perform. They need to keep building a good car, that’s important.”
Last season, there were persistent rumors of Verstappen switching to Mercedes, and this year, he has been linked with a whopping $1 billion deal with Aston Martin. Despite having a contract with Red Bull till 2028, Marko confirmed the existence of performance clauses that could allow Verstappen to leave if the team underperforms.
“As in every Formula 1 contract, there are clauses if certain success quality criteria are not met,” Marko disclosed last year amid the Mercedes rumors. He underlined that Verstappen values success over financial gains, and if Red Bull fails to deliver a car capable of winning, Verstappen would explore other options.
Verstappen himself has stated that as long as he is “happy” at Red Bull, he sees “no reason to leave”. As the season unfolds, the world will be watching with bated breath if Red Bull can rise to the occasion or if Verstappen’s future becomes a talking point once again.
