Max Verstappen will "definitely" leave Red Bull as doubts continue to grow around the performance of Red Bull, reckons Ralf Schumacher.
In the Bahrain GP, Verstappen was sixth, 34.3s behind race-winner Oscar Piastri on a dismal night for Red Bull, which also featured multiple slow pit-stops for the usually razor-sharp team.
The RB21 was at best the fourth-fastest car in Sakhir, as Verstappen laboured to seventh on the grid, complaining all throughout the weekend of a lack of grip and trouble with the brakes as Red Bull's performance slump hit a new-low.
The inability of the team to arrest the slide in performance which started in the summer of 2024 has been cited as one factor which could push Verstappen out of the exit door, with car upgrades not delivering the hoped-for boost.
With this in mind, six-time grand prix winner Schumacher believes the four-time world champion will "definitely" leave before his contract expires at the end of the 2028 season.
"I'm pretty sure that if the upgrade on the car doesn't take effect by Imola and the new [in-house] engine [for 2026] doesn't run quite as well, Max Verstappen will definitely leave the team," Schumacher explained during Sky Germany's broadcast.
"You can see the difference he makes, you absolutely have to get this driver and everyone wants to have him."
Verstappen has been heavily-linked with Mercedes and Aston Martin, where he could be re-united with Adrian Newey and Honda from 2026.
Reports emerged in January that the team was preparing a "billion-pound" offer to lure Verstappen to Silverstone, which was quickly quashed by team.
Of the two most likely destinations for Verstappen should he leave, six-time grand prix winner Schumacher believes it is Aston who the Dutchman should sign for.
"A bigger adventure awaits Verstappen at Aston Martin," he said.
"Together with Adrian Newey, whom he knows very well, he also knows Honda very well, and [there is ] also a new factory that has a future."
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