As the Formula One circus rolls into Shanghai for the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix, the focus isn’t just on the high-speed thrills and precision engineering typical of a race weekend. Instead, much of the buzz centres on Red Bull Racing’s star driver, Max Verstappen, and the swirling rumours of his possible departure from the team amid internal conflict and overtures from rivals such as Mercedes.
The last few weeks have been tumultuous for Red Bull Racing, marked by an internal power struggle that has thrust the team into the media spotlight for all the wrong reasons. The situation escalated with an internal investigation into team principal Christian Horner, casting a shadow over the team’s preparations for the season.
As Mercedes search for a worthy successor to the Lewis Hamilton, eyes have turned to Verstappen, prompting speculation about his commitment to Red Bull, where his contract runs until 2028.
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Verstappen’s stance on consistency and performance
During the press conference, Verstappen faced direct questions about his future and whether he intends to see out his contract with Red Bull. His response underlined his desire for stability and focus on racing, a theme he’s consistently advocated since signing his long-term contract beyond 2021.
“I signed a long-term contract [with Red Bull] after 2021. And the only thing I have emphasised from the beginning is that I want to find a quiet, peaceful environment,” Verstappen said, expressing his satisfaction with recent team discussions that have focused more on car performance than internal politics.
“I’m very happy that we talked about the car recently. We’re talking about the car’s performance and that’s the way it should be,” Verstappen said.
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What could influence Verstappen’s future decisions?
Verstappen hinted that as long as the team remains focused on the sport rather than internal strife, he sees no reason to leave. However, he left the door open on the length of his career, noting that, unlike his contemporary Fernando Alonso, he doesn’t see himself in F1 until the age of 45.
At least that’s what he suggests when he says: “As long as I’m happy in the team, there’s no reason to change”
This introduces an element of unpredictability into his long-term future in the sport.
The Dutchman does not “see myself driving in F1 until I am 45”, as Fernando Alonso, for example, is planning to do with his new contract with Aston Martin.
“It’s difficult to say something like that,” says Verstappen. “But you never know…”
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The quest for victory in China
The conversation also turned to Verstappen’s prospects at the Shanghai International Circuit, where he has yet to win. Despite this, his approach remains the same, emphasising his desire to win regardless of the venue. “But the approach is always the same: you want to win wherever you race,” he explained, downplaying the importance of a specific victory in China in terms of his overall career goals.
“We haven’t been here for a couple of years now, but I’m not so focused on having to win here. I just want to win.”
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Technical challenges and opportunities
The Red Bull RB20 is said to be at the peak of its development cycle, according to the team’s chief designer Adrian Newey. However, Verstappen believes there is still more to be extracted from the current car, suggesting that development efforts will continue despite the car’s approaching performance ceiling.
Verstappen disagrees: “I do think that we can get a lot more out of the car. That’s exactly the reason why we took this development path, because there is even more potential. But how much is difficult at the end of the day “And if we knew, we would of course make the car faster. It just takes time.”
Adapting to the sprint format
Verstappen shared his thoughts on the sprint race format that has been introduced for the Shanghai weekend. This format, which includes reduced free practice time followed by multiple qualifying sessions and races, is a departure from traditional race weekends.
Verstappen likes the new structure and believes it will give teams more opportunity to fine-tune their set-ups, potentially leading to more competitive races.
“It makes more sense that way. The most annoying thing about the process so far was that we went into qualifying directly after the first training session. And if you didn’t have the set-up right, you were stuck with it for the rest of the weekend.”
Verstappen says the new requirements will give drivers and teams “more opportunities” to perfect car set-ups.
“That should also make for better racing,” claims Verstappen.
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The impact of a sprint race in Shanghai
The choice of Shanghai as the venue for a sprint race could be seen as an attempt by Formula One to inject some unpredictability into the proceedings after several years away from the circuit.
Verstappen sees this as a positive development, suggesting it will add excitement for the fans and a different dynamic for the teams and drivers. “It makes the whole thing more exciting. It’s a bit more interesting for the fans. Let’s put it that way,” he commented.
“It’s a bit more interesting for the fans…
“Ideally, I would have liked to have had a normal weekend here. But at least now we can try out the new format,” said Verstappen.
“Hopefully it’s better than what we had before.”
As the weekend progresses, the racing world will be watching to see how the dynamics within Red Bull develop and how Verstappen handles the pressure both on and off the track. With his future at Red Bull under scrutiny amid potential moves by rivals, Verstappen’s decisions over the coming months could well define his career trajectory and the balance of power in Formula One.
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