'Hunter Verstappen only considers this key factor when choosing new F1 team'

12:31, 18 Jul

Updated: 15:27, 18 Jul

byLudo van Denderen

At Red Bull Racing, Max Verstappen earns a more than generous salary, but it's uncertain whether he would receive a comparable offer from another team, such as Mercedes. However, former Red Bull driver Jaime Alguersuari believes that Verstappen isn’t concerned about the money at all.

Speaking on the Chequered Flag podcast this week, the Spaniard said he expects Max Verstappen to leave Red Bull Racing at the end of the season. According to the former Toro Rosso driver, Verstappen isn't driven by financial considerations. Instead, there's only one factor that truly matters to him when choosing a new team: competitiveness.

“Max definitely isn't looking at the money; he's a hunter,” said Alguersuari on the same podcast. “He looks as if he can win. He is probably one of the few drivers in Formula 1 who only thinks of winning. That's his natural design since he was a kid, and his dad formed him as a racing driver.”

Verstappen pictured in his RB21

Verstappen feels the problems at Red Bull

And winning, according to Alguersuari, is going to be difficult at Red Bull in the coming time. “There is a lot of uncertainty within Red Bull. Max feels all this instability; he feels the lack of performance. And all of this is due to the team moving down.

“People are leaving, Jonathan Wheatley, Adrian Newey. Many people in the team left. That's giving you less trust. And as a world champion, as Max, it's quite clear that maybe you are thinking of moving somewhere else. I am one hundred per cent sure of that,” concluded the former driver.

Jonathan Wheatley found a new home at Sauber, with Adrian Newey moving to Aston Martin. After Christian Horner's sacking, Laurent Mekies has taken the reins at Red Bull.

Will Max Verstappen be the next senior figure to leave Red Bull? Vote in our poll below!

Poll