Former Red Bull executive 'reveals' clause in Max Verstappen's contract

To the annoyance of the Dutchman, Red Bull recently decided to replace Liam Lawson with Yuki Tsunoda, with Verstappen against this move, exclusively revealed by GPblog.

That move, which saw the Japanese driver make the move to the Austrian team, seems to refute the theory that Verstappen determines who the second driver is at Red Bull.

However, Hopkins revives this idea, with the Brit suspecting that the Austrians do not place a strong number two next to Verstappen because the Dutchman would not want that: "I don’t see Red Bull bringing in a clear number two driver. Max clearly wants all the focus on him and doesn’t need a teammate challenging him," Hopkins says to a gambling site.

“It’s possible that Max has something in his contract giving him a say in who his teammate is like how other drivers, such as Michael Schumacher and Nigel Mansell had in the past," continued Hopkins.

Although Verstappen's disapproval after Lawson's demotion back down to Racing Bulls indicated otherwise, Hopkins continues: "While it might not be formally written, I’m sure Max has a verbal opinion on the matter. He’d likely prefer someone of higher quality than what he’s seen recently.

But Hopkins believes that a second driver pushing Verstappen will potentially move Red Bull back up the grid towards McLaren: "On the other hand, having two equal drivers as McLaren does is a key part of their rapid rise. They push each other, which in turn pushes the team to deliver more. This competitive environment can drive faster overall improvement."