Jacques Villeneuve says there’s only one good thing about Red Bull right now

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Jacques Villeneuve is worried about Red Bull after a series of departures ‘destroyed’ the team.

Laurent Mekies is a third of the way through his first full year in charge, having replaced the previously ever-present Christian Horner in July 2025. Helmut Marko, who ran Red Bull in conjunction with Horner for two decades, left at the end of the season.

Other high-profile departures include renowned designer Adrian Newey and sporting director Jonathan Wheatley, who were also members of the team’s title-winning core.

How much are Red Bull MISSING Adrian Newey right now?

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Jacques Villeneuve says Max Verstappen can’t save Red Bull ‘on his own’

Speaking on the F1 Show, Villeneuve suggested that Max Verstappen had become even more important at Red Bull in light of their on-track regression.

After a rather anonymous fourth-place finish at the Barcelona Grand Prix, Verstappen is seventh in the championship, over 100 points off the pace. While the team are optimistic about ascending the order as they continue to shed weight, their star driver is currently on course for his worst season since leaving Toro Rosso.

Villeneuve says Red Bull, a distant fourth in the constructors’, are no longer part of the ‘equation’ at the front and fears that they’re only at the beginning of a lengthy rebuild.

The FIA ranked Red Bull’s internal combustion engine as the benchmark, but the consensus is that they’re behind Mercedes on the electrical front, leaving them with an overall power deficit. The team plan to challenge the ruling, which has denied them access to upgrades.

Villeneuve said: “They need to find a way to try and keep him there, because he’s the only good thing in the team right now – other than the engine… the ICE part of the engine.

“It’s become a very political place over the last two years. It seems there’s so much strife about who’s going to lead. Everybody’s been kicked out.

“It’s very difficult to see a good future at Red Bull. It’s really odd. Right now, they’re going down, they haven’t reached the bottom yet.

“It’s lost its sparkle. Nobody talks about Red Bull as the crazy, fun, fast team that will always find a solution. They’re not even part of the equation anymore.

“It’s tough on Max, but thank god he’s there because he can still drive this car hard. That’s more the narrative right now – not the team, but Max.

“They’ve gotten rid of everyone that’s made this team what it is today, which is crazy. Even Max arrived after the team had been built. He was the last addition to the team, but now he’s the last remaining soldier.

• READ MORE: Oscar Piastri’s McLaren exit clause detail emerges amid Red Bull interest to replace Max Verstappen

“He cannot just handle the team on his own. He’s not a car designer, he’s very good at developing a car, but you still need the people around you.

“But as you see, even Helmut Marko was pushed aside, and now it looks like the young driver programme, nobody’s talking about it anymore. Everything has been destroyed and has to be rebuilt.”

It’s been widely reported that Verstappen can activate an exit clause in his contract between August and October if he’s outside the top two in the standings. He’s currently 60 points behind Lewis Hamilton, so the clause will almost certainly come into play in four races’ time.

Red Bull want Verstappen to commit publicly, which will help them sign star-studded engineers, but he’s taking time before making a decision.