Exclusive: Max Verstappen quashes persistent Red Bull F1 narrative

Max Verstappen has countered the perception that Red Bull is the only top team in Formula 1 experiencing high-level talent "coming and going" en masse.

As part of an exclusive interview with RacingNews365, the four-time F1 drivers' champion questioned whether the widely held view is perhaps "too dramatic" when it comes to the Milton Keynes-based team.

High-profile departures from the six-time constructors' champions have become an en vogue topic to cover in Formula 1 over the past two years, with the catalyst being the exit of long-time technical director Adrian Newey, who had joined the team from McLaren after its debut campaign at the end of 2005.

His nearly two decades of service to the energy drinks-backed team not only elevated him to exalted status in F1, but helped transform Red Bull from plucky outsiders to established powerhouse, with its history punctuated by two periods of unimpeached dominance, first at the hands of Sebastian Vettel and then, later, Verstappen himself.

Many of the well-covered names who have left Red Bull since Newey in 2024 have been fellow long-term employees and linchpins of the team, such as Jonathan Wheatley and Will Courtenay. But as it continues to transition into a new era with Laurent Mekies at the helm, Verstappen remains as a cornerstone to rebuild from.

"The team, for me, is like a second family, right?" the Dutchman says. "I've experienced so many amazing things with the team.

"Of course, naturally there are a lot of amazing things, and of course there are moments which are probably a bit tougher."

As such, the current campaign has not been straightforward for Red Bull. Embarking on its first season as power unit manufacturer — in collaboration with Ford — to great early success, the fledgling project immediately impressed during pre-season testing in Bahrain and has been set as the FIA's engine benchmark for its much-discussed Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities programme (ADUO).

But the RB22 has proven difficult to grapple with. Through the opening rounds, the troublesome chassis saw Verstappen and new team-mate Isack Hadjar fighting in the lower reaches of the points.

"I think this year started out quite tough," admits Verstappen, before adding: "But we are on an upward trend."

The upward trend breathes new life

Since the Miami Grand Prix, things have looked more positive, if still inconsistent, as the team has slowly added downforce, balance and overall performance to the car.

Now, 11 rounds into the year, the 28-year-old has four podiums to his name, including a second-place finish at the recent Hungarian Grand Prix, yet a first victory of the season remains elusive.

But whilst Red Bull is still forging its path back to the summit of Formula 1, there are signs that things are moving in the right direction.

The recent signing of Gwen Lagrue to head up the team's junior driver programme is a significant coup, considering the success the Frenchman has enjoyed in progressing the careers of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli at Mercedes.

It is a clear indication that Red Bull is still able to attract top talent — and that is part of a point Verstappen is keen to stress.

"Of course, over the last few years, people have left, but also people are joining," he adds of those who departed Milton Keynes. "People always like to focus on the negative; when people are leaving, they always make it out as if it's something very dramatic.

"But honestly... of course, sometimes you're like, 'I wish certain people would have stayed,' but that's life, and that's also what you see in other sports; sometimes people move on, they change. It's part of the culture and just how sports work in a way.

"It's hard always to keep a very successful group together. Those are always people that other teams are also trying to find, get the talent, and it's the same in football — when you see a great player, but then there's another club that wants the player, they will do everything they can to get the player, or in a management structure. So it's not uncommon.

"I feel like sometimes people have been a bit dramatic, a little bit too dramatic on that, that it only happens to us. People are leaving, they're coming and going all the time. That's just part of the sport in a way."

The central pillar

As the foundational figures of Red Bull's past success have moved on to pastures new, like former team principal Christian Horner, Verstappen has become an increasingly central pillar within the operation, and his direction and leadership have only become more important with the latest generation of F1.

He has not been shy about voicing his concerns over the new-for-2026 regulations, and that forthright method of communication has helped cultivate an uncomplicated environment within the team, even if the outside noise surrounding F1's talismanic driver and his future is anything but that.

10 years into his tenure at Red Bull's main team, Verstappen shoulders great responsibility for its on-track success, and his experience is now pivotal to those around him, including Hadjar in the sister car.

When asked how he is able to translate those leadership skills into helping drive the team forward, Verstappen reveals it's a position and a process that has been "very natural" to him.

"Just being myself," the 71-time grand prix winner says in response. "What I've done over all the years, I think, is build up a really good relationship with a lot of people, and just saying how it is, I think, as well; like being very straightforward because that's also how I like to operate — them to me, and me back to the team. So, that's how we try to do it.

"I think when you get older, you also understand it a little bit more; you get a bit more experience in life. You grow up a bit more with... you experience many more things with the people in the team as well. So it's been, honestly, very, very natural."

Verstappen says Red Bull is like a "second family" to him, but it is the only family he has ever known in F1, and as the team continues to evolve around him, he becomes ever more emblematic of how the Milton Keynes-based squad is starting to blend the old with the new, which is perhaps exactly the point he is making.