Red Bull must be careful after Max Verstappen’s camp disagreed with three key driver decisions, ‘they’re not listening…’

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Red Bull Racing are in arguably one of the most precarious positions they’ve faced in their 20 years competing in Formula 1.

Team principal Christian Horner faces scrutiny with Red Bull lining up at the Japanese Grand Prix with their third different driver pairing in the past four races.

Sergio Perez was dropped in the winter break after a difficult 2024 season, but not before he signed a contract extension that should have kept him with the team until the end of next year.

Liam Lawson was chosen as his replacement, but his spell as a Red Bull driver lasted just two race weekends, before it was decided that he needed to be replaced by Yuki Tsunoda.

Max Verstappen is the constant throughout all of this disruption, although he’s not entirely happy with the direction the team is going in.

Verstappen disagreed with the decision to drop Lawson, citing the car’s lack of driveability as the biggest problem, rather than the New Zealander’s underwhelming performance.

However, it turns out that wasn’t the only call Red Bull have made in the past 12 months that his camp wasn’t entirely onboard with.

READ MORE: Red Bull driver Max Verstappen’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

Max Verstappen’s camp disagreed with three driver decisions including Liam Lawson swap

Journalist and Dutch commentator Nelson Valkenburg was speaking on The Race F1 Podcast about the recent uproar within the Red Bull camp.

Valkenburg was asked about how Red Bull should approach Verstappen’s camp when it comes to major decisions to his importance to the team, and he said: “Well, you say the Verstappen team, but [the] difference to the Schumacher-Ferrari era, it doesn’t feel like that desperation to hang on to him translates into decision making power because I don’t get the feeling they wanted to get rid of Lawson at all.

“I don’t get the feeling [that] last year they really wanted to get rid of Checo or that they said no to [Carlos] Sainz. I don’t believe that at all.

“So, there are decisions being made that he’s not comfortable with, whether it’s the car or the driver next to him.

“So that desperation, yes, but not they’re not listening to him. That’s for sure.”

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Red Bull might need to give Max Verstappen’s camp more power to avoid F1 exit

It was previously suggested that Verstappen’s camp didn’t want Carlos Sainz to join Red Bull, but it may make more sense that the Dutchman would prefer a stronger teammate to help him in on-track battles, especially as McLaren will more often than not be able to call upon Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

Likewise, Lawson’s struggles have forced many people to reevaluate Perez’s final year with the team, as the RB20 and RB21 look incredibly difficult to drive.

Jos Verstappen – Max’s father – and his manager Raymond Vermeulen are unlikely to be keen for the four-time world champion to hang around for too long if Red Bull no longer look like the team that can deliver a championship-winning car.

Aston Martin are interested in signing Verstappen, and a reunion with Adrian Newey and Honda’s power units would be very welcome.

Another team Verstappen could join is Mercedes, with Toto Wolff holding an interest in the 27-year-old for some time, and the Silver Arrows expected to produce the best engine for the 2026 regulations.

Red Bull are running out of bargaining chips to keep Verstappen happy if he’s not winning races and the car isn’t getting any easier to drive.

Horner and Helmut Marko may have to cede some control to Verstappen and his team if they want to secure his long-term future.