Max Verstappen labelled 'last remaining soldier' in 'destroyed' Red Bull

1997 F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve has stated Max Verstappen is the “last remaining soldier” in Red Bull's successful set-up.

The Dutchman is currently in his 11th F1 campaign with the team and enjoyed his most successful stint with the team from 2021 to 2024 when he won four consecutive titles.

However, most of those who occupied senior roles in the triumphant set-up are no longer in the team, with exits including Christian Horner, Jonathan Wheatley, Adrian Newey, Helmut Marko, while Verstappen's race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase will leave for McLaren in 2028.

Red bull has not enjoyed a strong start to the current season, languishing off the front-running pace.

Villeneuve has stated the pressure is on Red Bull to ensure it keeps hold of Verstappen in the coming years.

“They need to find a way to try and keep him there, because he's the only good thing in the team right now,” Villeneuve told Sky F1. 

“Other than the engine, because, as we found out, the engine is very good, the ICE part of the engine.

“It's become a very political place in the last two or three years. It seems that there's so much internal strife on who's going to lead, who's going to do that, and everybody has been kicked out.

“It's very difficult to see a good future at Red Bull. It's really odd. They've ridden the wave, right now they're going down.

“They haven't reached bottom yet, that's a tough one. It's lost its spark.”

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Verstappen has bagged just one podium across the opening seven rounds of the campaign.

As Red Bull attempts to recover in the order, Villeneuve stated it is up to the decision makers to ensure it has the right people in place to develop the car and keep Verstappen content.

“Nobody talks about the Red Bull team as, 'oh, the crazy, fun, fast team, they will always find a solution',” he said.

“No, they're not even part of the equation anymore. We don't talk about them, we just talk about Max.

“Thank God he's there because he can still drive this car hard. That's more the narrative right now - not the team, but Max. So it's a tough place. 

“They've got rid of everyone that's made this team what it is today, which is crazy, because even Max arrived afterwards, arrived after the team had been built. 

“He was the last addition to the team, but now he's the last remaining soldier. That makes it really, really tough, because he can't just handle the team on his own. 

“He's not a car designer - he's very good at developing a car, saying what's needed, but you still need the people around you.

“Even Marko was pushed aside, and now it looks the young driver programme, nobody is talking about it anymore.

“Everything has kind of been destroyed and has to be rebuilt, but how will it be rebuilt? For that, we need to wait for all the political aspects to be settled.”