‘He’s the glue’ – Verstappen seen as Red Bull’s last line of stability

Following the dismissal of Christian Horner as team principal and CEO, Laurent Mekies has been promoted from Racing Bulls. The Frenchman takes on the role during a tumultuous period. “There are really big things he needs to address immediately, and the driver line-up is obviously one of them,” says Palmer on the F1 Nation podcast.

Verstappen is currently contracted to Red Bull until and including 2028, but it is known that there are clauses in his contract that allow for an early departure under certain scenarios. "Because Max, at the moment, seems to be the glue that's just holding this whole team together. Right now, if you take Max out of Red Bull, they've lost all the old management," continues Palmer.

With the departure of Horner, Adrian Newey, and Jonathan Wheatley, only Helmut Marko remains from the 'old' Red Bull management. Palmer expects that, as a result, other figures within the team, such as Verstappen's race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase, will play a bigger role. "Gianpiero is obviously now going to be a central figure as well, who's got a great relationship with Max."

At the same time, Mekies must also consider the second seat at Red Bull for 2026. "But the other driver is a big question mark as well, and that's where Laurent has got some great experience working with Yuki Tsunoda before, and others, to try and sort out what's going on there," concludes Palmer.