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Max Verstappen has ridiculed the Michael Schumacher approach of building up a team and then winning with it, and he feels he would rather go to the team with the fastest car in his career. The German driver is considered one of the greatest to ever do it, and one of the reasons behind it has been his career trajectory.
Michael Schumacher began his career at Jordan where he had one race before he moved to Benetton. After winning titles with the team in 1994 and 1995, the driver opted to move to Ferrari where he expressed a desire to build up a team from scratch and then win with it. As a result, Michael could not win a title from 1996 until 2000 when he first won a title with the Italian team.
He would then go on to win 5 consecutive titles with Ferrari and retire as one of the greatest and most successful drivers in F1 history. Max Verstappen, however, has no interest in that approach.
Talking to Sky Sports F1 about what the future might hold for him, Max Verstappen was quite open, as he claimed that all he wants is a fast car under him. He'd want to be a part of the team that has the best car and has no interest in building up teams. He said,
"Well, at the end of the day, these kinds of decisions are not made very easily and I’m very happy with where I am. I want to be in the fastest car, that’s what I always said with the team. That’s what we have at the moment, and that’s what we try and have also next year."
He added,
“I don’t necessarily have the desire to suddenly build up something new or whatever. “Because why would you want to leave when you are already in the best position and you think you can continue that for a long time?”
Max Verstappen linked to a Red Bull exit and a Mercedes seat in the future
Since the start of the 2024 F1 season, Max Verstappen has been linked with a possible move to Mercedes and away from Red Bull. It all began when the driver seemed quite open to taking a side in the team's internal politics. He sided with Helmut Marko and against Christian Horner which fuelled the speculation. To add to this, his father has expressed dissatisfaction with how the team is being operated.
The speculation gained further momentum with designer Adrian Newey announcing his departure from Red Bull. When that happened, there were rumors that Max Verstappen could possibly look for a move away from the team as well. It was at the same time that there were reports of a £150 million-per-year contract offered to the driver.
Things have mellowed a bit since then, but if there is a viewpoint that goes against Max Verstappen going to Mercedes, then it has to be his aversion to building up a team. The German team is struggling at the moment, and if it doesn't show progress, Max might not be interested whatsoever.
