Verstappen urged to be selfish in debate over Red Bull future

Jenson Button has indicated that Max Verstappen must "think of number one" when it comes to his long-term future with Red Bull.

Verstappen wrapped up a fourth straight drivers' crown this year and has dominated F1 in the ground-effect era. Red Bull, however, suffered an alarming drop in form in 2024, with 

Verstappen was still able to haul podiums and solid points, but with the 2025 machines set to be largely carry-overs of the '24 designs before the revolution of the '26 rules, Red Bull is on the back foot, especially since it has lost key technical figures, including chief technical officer Adrian Newey.

The four-time champion does have a contract until the end of 2028 but has been heavily linked with a move to Mercedes for 2026 given its strength with new power units and the relative unknown that is Red Bull's in-house project. 

Reflecting on the situation, 2009 champion Button feels that although Verstappen should be grateful to Red Bull for providing him with a car capable of wins and titles, he must be selfish and consider his position.

"You look at it, and they’re probably the third-best, if not fourth-best, team at the moment, so it is tricky," Button told the Sky Sports F1 podcast.

"But then Max came back with, ‘Yeah, but we haven’t had the best car since the seventh or eighth race, and they still haven’t closed on me in the championship’, which is a good point.

"So as a team, they are still great. They just don’t have the performance in the car like we’ve expected over the last three-and-a-half years.

"But if they start like they are now [in 2025], it puts a lot of pressure on the drivers to maximise every weekend.

"Maybe he will look elsewhere, but they’ve given him so much over the last few years in terms of performance.

"It’s always a tricky one for a driver. He doesn’t want to leave a team that’s given him so much, but he’s got to think of number one, which is himself."