Max Verstappen has been in the headlines ever since his nightmare weekend at the Bahrain Grand Prix, where he finished in second place. After years of dominance, he has had a challenging start to the 2025 season with only one win at the Japanese Grand Prix. If this wasn’t enough, all the other races have been one by McLaren, and at this point, it feels like it’s McLaren vs McLaren with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri competing against each other for the win.
Following the disastrous weekend at the Bahrain Grand Prix, Helmut Marko admitted the team’s recent dip and raised significant “concerns” about retaining Max Verstappen. He said, “The concern is great. Improvements have to come in the near future so that he has a car with which he can win again. We have to create a basis with a car so that he can fight for the world championship.”
Max Verstappen Adresses Marko’s Remark

Despite him being in contract until 2028, he’s expected to leave Red Bull Racing as speculations grow with every passing day. When asked about what lies behind Marko’s comments in the Driver’s Press Conference ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Thursday, he said, “Bahrain wasn’t a great weekend for us. I think we were all pretty disappointed with that. We just keep on trying to improve the car, come up with new ideas to try on the car. The competition is tough. That’s how I go about my weeks, just trying to improve the situation.”
Max Verstappen On His Next Championship Title

Max Verstappen is the current reigning champion of the title, and he shared his thoughts about winning this year as well. He mentioned, “The rest is out of my hands anyway. At the moment, we are not the quickest, so then naturally it’s very tough to fight for a championship. But it’s a still very long road. Around this time last year, it was all looking great (for us), and we all know how the season ended up. I’m hopeful we can still improve things, and we’ll see what we get.”
Max Verstappen also explained why his manager had been in a heated discussion with Helmut Marko and told the media, “To my knowledge, I think they were having just a conversation about everything, which I think is allowed. Now, if someone speaks up on it, people can always see it in their own way, how people are discussing things.”
Max Verstappen will look for redemption at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, which will further determine his tenure at Red Bull Racing, according to the speculations. The race takes place this weekend, with McLaren being the top contender once again for the title.
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