Verstappen and Red Bull in trouble? 'People need to leave the team'

Ralf Schumacher says it again: 'Yet another sovereign victory by Max Verstappen and Red Bull,' the German wrote in his column on German Sky Sports' website. But there might be dark clouds coming. This has all to do with the budget cap, according to the former F1 driver.

He is repeating himself, Schumacher writes. Still, the German wants to say it once more: "Max is absolutely an exceptional talent. He is a type of driver of which there have not been many in the history of Formula 1. He is absolutely faultless and has the overview at all times, for example in terms of strategy."

'Budget ceiling gets in Red Bull's way'

It helps that Red Bull Racing has given Verstappen a car with which he can win races. According to Schumacher, that is going to be the case until at least 2026. But after that? "Because of the budget cap, Red Bull's dominance will weaken somewhat, because people will have to leave the team and that will benefit the other teams. As a result, experience will be spread more among the F1 teams and everything will be closer together. But I think there will be some Red Bull dominance until 2026."

The question is which drivers Red Bull will continue to dominate with. Verstappen is obviously not in question, something that is not true of his teammate Sergio Perez. Still, Schumacher says he cannot imagine the Austrian team saying goodbye to the Mexican after this season. "But in Formula 1, nothing is impossible."

'De Vries off at AlphaTauri'

However, Schumacher is now convinced that the other Dutchman will be clearing the field at Red Bull Racing's sister team very soon. It is no secret that AlphaTauri and Helmut Marko are not happy with Nyck de Vries' performance. "In any case, I am sure someone will replace him [after the summer break], because Helmut Marko's statements with us [on Sky Sports Germany] were too clear," Schumacher said.