Max Verstappen tagged with remarkable 'carried' claim before 'haywire' Red Bull implosion

Jacques Villeneuve has declared Max Verstappen the king-maker of his and Red Bull's success, arguing the Dutchman "made that team champions."

The Canadian labelled the 27-year-old the "key factor" in the Milton Keynes squad's latest run of dominance, in an exclusive interview with RacingNews365.

Red Bull has since fallen from its perch, but not before taking back-to-back constructors' championships in 2022 and 2023, to go with Verstappen's four F1 drivers' titles, which span from the year prior and the campaign after.

The energy drinks-backed outfit, along with its star driver, enjoyed a record season in 2023, winning 21 of 22 grands prix (19 of which were taken by Verstappen) to dethrone McLaren and its MP4/4 from 1988 on numerous fronts.

Whilst the Woking team looks set to reclaim that mantle at the end of this year, the RB19 helped Verstappen and Red Bull rake in record points hauls in both championships, with 575 and 860, respectively.

In fact, so crushing was their combined supremacy that year, the 27-year-old could have won the constructors' crown solo, after scoring more points than team-mate Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton, who finished second and third, combined.

But despite a myriad of records and a plethora of accolades for an RB19 that was comfortably the class of the field, Villeneuve views Verstappen as the difference maker, stating that the 65-time grand prix winner "carried" Red Bull through its period of success.

When it was put to him that many people within the paddock consider F1 to be in an era where the input and ability of the driver are less critical, Villeneuve dismissed the notion.

"Well, they are super important," the 1997 F1 drivers' champion replied. "Just look at Verstappen.

"He carried that team. He made that team champions."

'Then it all went haywire...'

The 54-year-old also highlighted now-departed chief technical officer Adrian Newey, who was the architect of every title-winning Red Bull car, across both the reigns of Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel before him.

However, Villeneuve made it clear that, in this case, driver trumped designer, adding: "He was the key factor, him and Adrian Newey together, but he was the key."

Red Bull's slow and continuing decline started at the beginning of the 2024 season, with the controversies surrounding team principal Christian Horner, who was recently fired from the role, appearing to instigate the six-time constructors' champion's fall from grace.

Despite the capitulation and Horner potentially being the catalyst for it, Villeneuve views the Briton to also be instrumental in Red Bull's success, pinpointing how the 51-year-old ran the team before being replaced by Laurent Mekies after this year's British Grand Prix.

"And also Horner, the way he was running the team, the whole group there got it," the 11-time grand prix winner stated.

"Then it all went haywire a little bit. But he [Verstappen] was extremely, extremely important - the key element."