Ralf Schumacher is adamant that Max Verstappen will follow Adrian Newey out of Red Bull in the not-too-distant future. Earlier this week, the reigning champions announced that Newey will leave the team next year after negotiating an early end to his contract, which was initially set to run until 2026.
Newey is widely regarded as one of the greatest technical masterminds in F1 history and his impending exit will come as a major blow to Red Bull. It remains to be seen where he will go next, with Ferrari and Aston Martin thought to be interested in snapping him up.
Verstappen has also been linked with a move elsewhere amid interest from Mercedes, who are said to be keen on signing him when Lewis Hamilton joins Ferrari. Schumacher believes the Dutchman is ‘certain’ to leave Red Bull after hearing rumours that he has already spoken to other teams.
“I also think he has other options,” Schumacher told Sky Germany. “In the paddock, you already hear stories about him talking to others. The question is whether it will happen next year or the year after, but for me it is certain that he wants to leave.”
Verstappen remains tied down to Red Bull until the end of 2028 but has been openly courted by Mercedes in recent weeks. Toto Wolff has made no secret of his desire to work with the 26-year-old, saying last month: “Are we going to convince him? I don’t think it’s a matter of convincing.
“I think Max knows motor racing better than anyone and he will take decisions that he feels are good for him and I think a few factors play a role but he’s the one that’s going to trigger some more domino stones to fall afterwards.
“Everybody’s waiting for what he’s going to be doing. If I was Max, I would stay at Red Bull for 2025, but I’m not Max. It is the quickest car, but there are other factors.”
It was reported earlier this week that Mercedes were ready to offer Verstappen a record-breaking salary of around £120million per season. This would more than double his existing wage at Red Bull and see him earn nearly three times as much as Hamilton, who is set to be paid a base salary of £43.6m per season at Ferrari.
Red Bull would understandably like to keep Verstappen but Christian Horner has already insisted that he will not block an exit if his star driver wants to seek a new challenge.
Speaking at the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix, Horner said: “It’s like anything in life, you can’t force somebody to be somewhere just because of a piece of paper. If somebody didn’t want to be at this team, then we’re not going to force somebody, against their will, to be here.”
