Racing Bulls boss says they would ‘never’ want Max Verstappen to test their F1 car

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There has been discourse around Max Verstappen driving for Racing Bulls for some time, but team principal Alan Permane has stated that it will ‘never’ happen.

It first started back in 2025, when the Dutchman and teammates Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda were struggling to extract performance and get comfortable with Red Bull’s car. Meanwhile, the Racing Bulls VCARB 02 proved to be a smoother ride and easier to handle.

It was so much the case that Fernando Alonso believed Verstappen could have won the title in the VCARB 02. He would finish within two points of winning the championship in 2025 in the RB22, but many have wondered how he would perform in the sister team.

Alan Permane says it would be a ‘massive distraction’ if Max Verstappen tested for Racing Bulls

These conversations have continued into 2026. Verstappen has expressed frustration over the regulation changes and Red Bull’s car, with their ‘Macarena’ rear wing causing major problems.

He currently sits seventh in the standings with 91 points, and Red Bull are struggling to produce a car that can fight for wins. At the sister team, Racing Bulls are in the conversation for the best-of-the-rest spot, sitting level on points with Alpine in fifth.

READ MORE: All to know about Racing Bulls from team principal to Red Bull affiliation

Arvid Lindblad and Lawson are breaking into Q3 and the points consistently, leaving many, including Karun Chandhok, wanting Verstappen to drive the Racing Bulls.

Ralf Schumacher thinks Verstappen would be faster at Racing Bulls than Red Bull, but team principal Permane has completely ruled out any test or outing for the Dutchman with the Faenza-based team.

Asked if he would ever consider putting Verstappen in his car, he said on the Beyond the Grid podcast: “No, it would just fuel you guys and your press speculation, and it would just be a massive distraction.

“So there’s never been any talk or hint or anything like that. We know where we are, we know the drivers we’ve got, we know the car we’ve got, and we’re just trying to make steps every week.

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“Every time the car goes on the track, not just every weekend, every run, we’re trying to improve that and do a better job. And I think we can see so far this year, we’re doing that.

“If we look at the metrics that we record each race, we’ve improved the car since Melbourne. And if we measure ourselves against the quickest cars, we are certainly, in both quali pace and race pace, and race pace has been a big focus of the last few races, we’re making improvements.”