Max Verstappen is facing an uphill battle to claim a record-matching fifth consecutive Formula 1 title in 2025.
His Red Bull car has started the season slower than they would have hoped. It’s not as fast as McLaren or Mercedes’ challenger.
But Verstappen is excellent at defying the odds and has still managed to take a win and remain third in the drivers’ championship.
If their position fails to improve ahead of the 2026 F1 regulations, he will have little choice but to explore other options for his future.
Christian Horner will be worried about Verstappen’s reaction after struggling during the Miami Grand Prix. There was radio silence after the race.
With the car currently being around one second per lap behind their main rivals, Verstappen has lost confidence in Red Bull and it’s not a good omen for the rest of the campaign.
READ MORE: Max Verstappen furious with ‘inconsistent’ Red Bull issue in unheard radio messages during the Miami Grand Prix
Bernie Collins is impressed that Max Verstappen’s brain ‘sets him apart’ from his F1 rivals
Often during Formula 1 races, Verstappen is heard orchestrating his strategy and plotting his attack on his rivals.
In Bahrain, he even spotted that Lando Norris had overshot his grid box, which resulted in a five-second penalty.
While he’s achieving amazing things in the car, he still has the mental capacity to spot other extraordinary things going on elsewhere. It’s what makes him one of the best.
Sky Sports F1’s Bernie Collins has picked the main trait which she believes sets him apart from anyone else in the sport currently.
“All these things that he is picking up that are extra to his normal racing, extra to the lap he’s doing,” she said. “That really sets him apart, and you listen to his radio comms. He’s doing the strategy for himself and for some other drivers around.
“He’s fully on it and that’s someone who is driving so within his capacity. It’s really difficult to comprehend all of the information he is taking in and then to still come out with quite intelligent answers.”
READ MORE: Damon Hill tells Max Verstappen ‘the wise thing to do’ next season if he decides to leave Red Bull
Why the next Formula 1 race is crucial for Max Verstappen and Red Bull
Next on the calendar, Formula 1 returns to Europe after its annual eight-month absence. The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix is a pivotal event.
The Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona used to be the first race of the European leg of the season, but that changed in and hasn’t been the same since 2019.
It means that the venue for the first major upgrades of the season has changed. Now the parts that the teams will have been working on over the winter and since testing arrive at Imola.
For Red Bull, it’s a vital step. They need whatever they bring to their car to be effective if they want to stand any chance of winning.
Furthermore, if it has the opposite effect and sends them backwards, then they might be waving goodbye to their four-time champion driver at the end of the year.
