Jos Verstappen: 'If Red Bull can't do it now, you fear for the next years'

Jos Verstappen is on the one hand optimistic about Red Bull Racing and his son Max's 2025 season, but at the same time he worries: Will Red Bull manage to build a championship-worthy car again? "If they can't figure it out now, then you do worry for the years after," he said.

Based on his qualities, Max Verstappen should enter the 2025 season as the towering favourite. But in Formula 1, the best is not always the fastest. More than in any other sport, a driver is dependent on the equipment he is given by his team, so regularly the best driver does not win.

Things seemed to be heading in that direction last season, when Red Bull Racing struggled to develop Verstappen's car effectively, with McLaren and Ferrari technically surpassing the team. The story is well known: Verstappen took the title regardless due to his skill and talent, but without a competitve car, is far from being a guarantee of renewed success, Jos Verstappen also knows.

Looking ahead to the new season, Verstappen Sr., says he has many question marks. What will the balance of power of be, he does not know: "You do not know how the others are doing, so everything is new. Next week they will test and then you can see a bit of what is happening, but not quite yet either. So it is a matter of waiting and hoping that Red Bull has made a good car, because that is incredibly important for Max," Jos Verstappen told RaceXpress.

Out loud, Verstappen Sr., wondered whether Red Bull "can still do it?", after a season during which the Austrians seemed to have lost their way. "With these new people, to then put down a good car.... You take that into next year too, when everything is new. If they can't get out of it now, you do worry for the years after that. So we are optimistic, but we want to see it progress."