Max Verstappen stays with Red Bull Racing until 2026 - Red Bull Contentpool

Troublesome future predicted for Red Bull: 'Forget it if Verstappen leaves'

10:26, 26 Aug

byEstéban den Toom

According to former Formula 1 driver Riccardo Patrese, Red Bull Racing could be heading for a 'downfall.' The team of Max Verstappen recently fired team manager Christian Horner, but the six-time Grand Prix winner from Italy doesn't see things improving quickly for the Austrian team.

Verstappen won the world championship in the premier class of motorsport four years in a row, but this year it seems that a McLaren driver may clinch the world championship. Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris have both scored significantly more points. “I think that Red Bull is off. They cannot come back. Why should they? From my point of view, they don’t come back. If they don’t have the right person, any team can drop away, and they cannot go to the top”

Verstappen in the GP of Hungary, Red Bull Contentpool

The former Formula 1 driver draws a parallel to the case of the Ferrari team after the Schumacher era. Even when Raikkonen became world champion with Ferrari in 2007, he claims the team was already in decline. “If you look at all the teams, even Williams, when the good people disappear, they still exist but are not winning.”

'Once Verstappen leaves Red Bull Racing you can forget about it'

According to the Italian, Red Bull Racing will suffer the same fate. “I think Red Bull is going to be like this. No more Horner, Newey, Wheatley, so at the end of the day, they are going backwards. “Maybe next year they will survive because they have Verstappen, maybe with one win, then a podium, then another podium, then a fifth place. But then, when Max leaves, forget it" Patrese concluded.

Next year, Red Bull Racing will have Ford as an engine partner. The new regulations in Formula 1 will start next season. It is possible that the cards will be dealt differently than in the last year of the current regulations.