David Croft delivers theory on why Red Bull might not design their 2026 F1 car around Max Verstappen

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Red Bull driver Max Verstappen has proved time and time again that he’s able to drive a Formula 1 car to its maximum potential, where others simply cannot.

Isack Hadjar will be Max Verstappen’s seventh different teammate at Red Bull since he made his debut with the team in 2016.

It’s an impressive level of turnover, especially when you consider that Verstappen was paired with Sergio Perez for four years, and Daniel Ricciardo’s teammate for his first three campaigns after his promotion from Toro Rosso.

There’s been a consistent complaint throughout Verstappen’s time with Red Bull from the opposite garage about how difficult the car is to drive.

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Alex Albon shared the extreme lengths he went to at Red Bull to try and survive, and after only surviving two races alongside Verstappen, Liam Lawson’s radio message highlighted his struggles.

Sergio Perez even suggested his success at Red Bull was detrimental, as the team were so concentrated on making sure Verstappen had the best chance of winning.

David Croft has now been speaking ahead of the start of the season about Red Bull’s approach to 2026.

He thinks that there might be a key reason why Red Bull don’t develop the RB22 just to the Dutchman’s liking.

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David Croft thinks Red Bull won’t develop F1 car for Max Verstappen amid exit concerns

Croft was speaking about the changes at Red Bull this season on The F1 Show and explained: “I think it’s a different culture at Red Bull under Lauren Mekies.

“This is his chance now to really strive forward and very much make this the Lauren Mekies Red Bull, and for every bit of good that Christian did, and he did build that team up to be quite the force, all good things come to an end.

“They’ve had that half a season now to play out 2025 and now move forward in 2026, and on Max’s side of the garage, particularly, there are key members of personnel that have moved on.

“Engineers who have gone on to other teams, mechanics that have gone on to other teams.

“GP [Gianpiero Lambiase] is staying around, that’s brilliant for Max and for Red Bull as well.

“Helmut Marko, very much the reason that Max publicly said I’m staying around as long as he’s here, has now moved on as well.

Presenter Natalie Pinkham commented: “He brought a certain energy, didn’t he?” to which Croft replied: “In the same way that Darth Vader, when he paid a visit to people in the Death Star, brought a certain amount of energy.”

“And who knows, Max might not be around at Red Bull at the end of 2026. We’re led to believe he has a contract where if he’s outside of the top two, he can decide to go elsewhere, and that might be something Max decides to do.

“So, if you’re Red Bull, you’re not putting everything in Max’s corner because if he does go, what are you left with? You’ve got to have parity across both sides of the garage.”

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Max Verstappen insists his F1 future is at Red Bull despite contract break clause

Red Bull face a dilemma as they know that their best chance of winning a championship is to design a car that leans into Verstappen’s strengths.

However, that ultimately comes at a cost as the driver on the other side of the garage, in this case Hadjar, is typically put on the back foot.

Verstappen insists that he’s likely to see out his Red Bull contract, which runs until the end of 2028.

The 28-year-old has also suggested in the past that he doesn’t plan to hang around racing in F1 forever, and if Red Bull are too far off the mark, then their rivals will immediately sense an opportunity to try and steal Verstappen away.

Verstappen could leave Red Bull at the end of 2026 if he’s sitting outside the top two in the drivers’ championship by the summer break.

That will worry Laurent Mekies if the Mercedes-powered cars are far superior to everyone else, and may be a lingering thought in the back of his mind about whether to go all-out on building the 2026 car around Verstappen.