Max Verstappen has joked that he may eventually need to “move aside” at Red Bull to facilitate the promotion of a new junior driver.
Earlier this month, Red Bull announced that it had signed Robin Raikkonen to its junior team from 2027.
Robin is the son of 2007 F1 champion Kimi Raikkonen, who spent over two decades in F1 racing for teams such as McLaren, Ferrari and Sauber.
Raikkonen junior is still in the karting phase of his racing career and will now have the support of Red Bull once the 2027 campaign gets underway.
Reacting to the news, Verstappen told media including RacingNews365: “I met them before the race on Sunday [at the Italian GP].
“They were sitting upstairs, so I had a quick chat with Kimi and with Robin.
”It was good. When they were around, I had a little chat and I knew that he was signed already. It's good to see.”
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Verstappen jokes about 'moving aside' for Raikkonen
Verstappen was signed to Red Bull's junior programme late in 2014 under the guarantee that he would be given a seat on the F1 grid for the following year.
Red Bull has famously signed many drivers throughout its history in the hunt of finding another talent to promote to the F1 grid.
With no doubt many now watching Raikkonen's progress with his backing to Red Bull, it was highlighted to Verstappen that he may be gone from F1 by the time the Finn is potentially ready to step into a seat.
Verstappen replied: "Yeah, who knows. Maybe, maybe not.
“I guess eventually they also need a seat for him in the team. So then, yeah, maybe I'll move aside!”
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