It’s no secret that the 2025 season hasn’t gone according to plan for Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing. Despite coming off of a fourth straight drivers’ championship, the 27-year-old hasn’t been able to consistently compete for race victories week after week, lagging behind the much quicker McLaren and having to scrap in battles with Mercedes and Ferrari to land spots on the podium.
Even still, Verstappen entered last weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring with a shouting chance at closing the gap on Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris at a track where he has dominated in the past, winning a record five times. Instead, the worst-case scenario happened—at a time when rumors about Verstappen’s future in Formula One have reached hot stove territory.
