Max Verstappen, the reigning four-time Formula 1 World Champion, finds himself in unfamiliar territory as the 2025 season hits its summer break. After years of Red Bull Racing dominance, the Milton Keynes-based squad has slipped from its perch atop the sport, leaving Verstappen and his team grappling with a new reality—a reality that has fans, pundits, and even Verstappen himself pondering the future.
For Verstappen, who notched up 56 of his 65 career Grand Prix victories between 2021 and 2024, winning had become second nature. But as of August 2025, the Dutch driver sits third in the drivers' standings, a whopping 97 points adrift of the championship leaders. Red Bull, once the team to beat, languishes in fourth place in the constructors' standings, trailing behind McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes. The last time Verstappen faced such a competitive deficit was back in 2020, before his era of dominance began.
The shift in fortunes has not gone unnoticed among fans and insiders. Recent reports reveal that a significant portion of the Formula 1 fanbase now supports the idea of Verstappen leaving Red Bull next year, even if it means sacrificing his chance to break Lewis Hamilton's record for most races with a single team. Hamilton, now with Ferrari, holds that distinction with 246 starts for Mercedes—a record Verstappen would forgo if he walks away from Red Bull in 2026.
But why the sudden change in Red Bull's performance? The answer, it seems, is multifaceted. The team has been rocked by off-track upheaval, most notably the departure of long-serving team principal Christian Horner, who was replaced by Laurent Mekies on July 9, 2025. The exits of key technical figures like Adrian Newey and Jonathan Wheatley further destabilized the organization. As Verstappen candidly explained to F1.com, "The team has gone from of course winning championships before I arrived, to when I arrived, a bit through a rebuilding phase, and then we really hit the peak again of winning championships. Now I feel like [it's a] slight rebuilding. We're still of course a very strong team, but I do think that to make again a step up, there's slight rebuilding or restructuring maybe, and understanding a little bit more what's going on, and that of course takes a little bit of time, but hopefully not too much time."
Despite the turbulence, Verstappen remains remarkably composed. Asked about the pressure of no longer being the favorite, he responded, "You also just have to accept where you're at. Yeah, we are not the quickest at the moment, but we're also not the slowest. We always want to be better, and actually, that was the same when we were winning. Now we're not winning that much. We just try to focus on understanding the car a bit better, where we can find our time, because, of course, next year there's new regulations, but I think there's still a lot to learn also this year."
His pragmatic approach is perhaps shaped by his early years in Formula 1, when race wins were a rarity and every point had to be fought for. "I had many years before that where I didn't have a winning car, so that's Formula 1, and you know that, so it's not a very hard thing to do [compartmentalise and deal with]," Verstappen continued. It's a sentiment that speaks to his maturity and resilience, even as the championship slips further from his grasp.
Red Bull's struggles have been compounded by instability in the second driver seat. Verstappen began the season partnered with rookie Liam Lawson, but after just two race weekends, Lawson was replaced by Yuki Tsunoda. The Japanese driver has found it tough to adapt, but Verstappen has publicly defended his teammate, stating during the Spanish Grand Prix weekend, "Yuki isn't a pancake. This [with the second Red Bull driver] has been going on for a long time. Maybe that's a sign. Of what? That you can decide yourself." The remark underscores Red Bull's ongoing search for a consistent partner to support Verstappen's efforts on track.
Meanwhile, the rest of the grid is not standing still. McLaren has emerged as the class of the field in 2025, with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris locked in an intense battle for the drivers' title. Former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya even warned, "They're going to come together," highlighting the fierce intra-team rivalry brewing at McLaren. With Verstappen 97 points behind, the title fight is shaping up to be a straight McLaren affair, relegating Red Bull to the role of underdog for the first time in years.
As if that weren't enough, Formula 1 is on the cusp of a seismic regulatory shift. The 2026 season will usher in sweeping changes to both aerodynamics and power units, and teams across the paddock are wary of the unknowns that lie ahead. A senior member of the Haas F1 team admitted there is "fear" that one team could exploit the new rules to establish a dominant advantage. Verstappen, for his part, is already looking ahead: "We just try to focus on understanding the car a bit better, where we can find our time, because, of course, next year there's new regulations, but I think there's still a lot to learn also this year."
Off the track, the rumor mill is in overdrive. Some speculate that Verstappen may be tempted to leave Red Bull in search of a more competitive seat. Others point to Lewis Hamilton's struggles at Ferrari—where the seven-time champion has yet to secure a podium finish—as a cautionary tale. Guenther Steiner has even suggested that Hamilton could retire at the end of 2025 if his fortunes don't improve, a sentiment echoed by Bernie Ecclestone, who has publicly called for Hamilton to step away from the sport.
With so much uncertainty swirling around the paddock, Verstappen's future remains a hot topic. For now, though, the Dutchman is focused on the task at hand: extracting the maximum from his Red Bull RB21, guiding his team through a period of transition, and preparing for whatever challenges the new regulations may bring. As the F1 circus gears up for the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort from August 29-31, all eyes will be on Verstappen to see if he can rally his team and reignite the spark that made Red Bull the dominant force of the last half-decade.
Whatever happens next, one thing is certain—Max Verstappen's journey through the highs and lows of Formula 1 is far from over. The summer break may offer a brief respite, but the questions about his future, Red Bull's revival, and the shape of the sport in 2026 are only just beginning to heat up.
