Ralf Schumacher firmly believes Verstappen 'will have to pull the plug'

08:28, 16 Jul

byTobia Elia

Ralf Schumacher is convinced that Max Verstappen will "decide to go in a different direction" given Red Bull's recent technical and performance struggles, as well as the wave of personnel departures that have weakened the team.

With Christian Horner’s future at Red Bull now settled, that of Max Verstappen remains an equally important and delicate issue within the walls of Milton Keynes.

The situation, in terms of the team’s internal atmosphere, is expected to now better align with the needs of the Dutchman and his camp, now that Horner is no longer at the helm – but for the moment, only one of the two conditions has been met.

The other condition is obviously the one related to performance, with Verstappen hoping that the technical staff led by Pierre Waché will be able to make significant corrections to the RB21 while waiting for the major introduction of the new technical regulations next year.

However, Ralf Schumacher remains skeptical about the technical director of the Milton Keynes-based team, believing that the Frenchman is struggling to follow in the footsteps of an absolute giant like Adrian Newey.

Max Verstappen

Will Verstappen pull the plug at Red Bull?

''It almost seems he simply isn’t being capable of closing that gap, of replacing Adrian Newey in any meaningful way,'' the former German driver said in the latest episode of the Backstage Boxengasse podcast.

''And a race-winning car... well, the car was capable of winning, but only within a very, very small and narrow performance window.''

''One could almost assume that the technical team needs to be replaced or reinforced. But that’s not so easy, because all the good people who’ve recently left – you won’t be able to bring them back.''

''And in Formula 1, they don’t just grow on trees. They’re all tied up with long contracts. That means you’d have to go back to the universities and start developing new talent.''

All these factors combined lead Schumacher to believe that, in the end, Verstappen will prefer to move on: ''Red Bull is now facing a long and difficult period – that’s just how it is. And I believe Max Verstappen will eventually have to pull the plug and decide to go in a different direction."