Jacques Villeneuve reckons Max Verstappen could struggle to find the same comfortable atmosphere as Red Bull at another team.
Max Verstappen has been speculated with a move away from Red Bull for most of this year, with the reigning World Champion linked with a Mercedes switch and, more recently, the Aston Martin squad.
Mercedes’ boss Toto Wolff has made no secret of his desire to sign Max Verstappen as a replacement for Lewis Hamilton as the seven-time F1 World Champion leaves for Ferrari at the conclusion of this season. While Verstappen himself has moved to cool this speculation in recent weeks, the rumors about the Dutch driver seeking new pastures have refused to completely die down and, indeed, have picked up again recently as Italian publication AutoSprint reported that Aston Martin owner Lawrence Stroll is seeking to tempt Verstappen away from Red Bull.
But, if Verstappen does decide to switch things up and leave Red Bull for a new challenge, 1997 F1 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve believes there could be something of a culture shock awaiting the Dutch driver. Having been part of Red Bull’s program even before entering F1 with Toro Rosso in 2015, stepping up to Red Bull Racing the following season, his near-decade at the Red Bull Racing team has cemented his position as the undisputed number one within the squad – with the team focusing on his talents and efforts to make him a multiple World Champion. This dynamic isn’t guaranteed elsewhere, believes Villeneuve, with the French-Canadian asking the question of whether he could recapture this comfort at another team.
“It depends on what becomes available for Max Verstappen,” he told InstantCasino.com, when asked whether Red Bull is still the best home for Verstappen. “There is no space at McLaren. Would he be treated any better at Mercedes? And would he take George Russell or Kimi Antonelli’s seat? Both Russell and Antonelli are Mercedes products and have been heavily invested in. But, Mercedes would probably want to sign Verstappen just to rob their big rivals Red Bull of their star driver. There is no good team for Verstappen to go to right now, but in the long term, we’ll have to see. He’s been in the Red Bull bubble his whole career, and it won’t be easy to recreate that comfortable atmosphere at another team.”
Part of the reasoning behind the rumors about Verstappen is due to the terse relationship between Red Bull team boss Christian Horner with Max’s father Jos Verstappen who, earlier this year, called for Horner’s job in the wake of the dismissal of the Red Bull GmbH internal investigation into Horner’s alleged behavior. The relationship is understood to have improved somewhat in recent weeks, and Villeneuve believes the younger Verstappen will be able to overlook these issues to make the decisions that work best for him. “The relationship between Jos Verstappen and Christian Horner is not good,” Villeneuve said. “But, we know how Max Verstappen thinks, he wants a car that wins. It seems he’s moved on the story at the start of the season and I think both Max and the Red Bull team know they need each other to succeed, they will probably be willing to put behind any recent hardships.”
Villeneuve’s insight into Verstappen’s situation underscores the complexities of a potential move away from Red Bull. With a well-established dynamic at his current team, the Dutch driver may face significant challenges in replicating this success elsewhere.
