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F1 fans were seemingly in agreement with McLaren CEO Zak Brown, who claimed that without Max Verstappen, Red Bull would be behind their junior team, Racing Bulls, in the 2025 season. It has been a difficult start to the campaign for the Austrian team, despite racking up two victories courtesy of the reigning four-time F1 world champion.
They made headlines by sacking Liam Lawson after just two races in the 2025 season and replacing him with Yuki Tsunoda. However, the Japanese driver has failed to score points consistently and has been struggling to extract performance out of a tricky RB21. Tsunoda, since joining the team, has scored seven points while Verstappen has scored 155 points in 11 races and two Sprints.
In his recent appearance at an event, ahead of the British Grand Prix, Brown took a cheeky dig at the Milton Keynes-based outfit's second driver's struggles amidst rumors of Max Verstappen making contact with Mercedes. He told Sky Sports:
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"Red Bull would be behind Racing Bulls [without Verstappen]. They have done a great job and have a great racing car. I think Max is carrying them at the moment."
F1 fans reacted to Zak Brown's comments regarding Max Verstappen and Red Bull on X, with one fan claiming:
"They built a car around Max, so it's no surprise his teammate suffers."
"Undoubtedly, all evidence points towards this."
"How right Zak is. If it wasn't for Max, Red Bull would be a midfield team," said a fan.
Here are some more reactions:
"Zak is obnoxious, but he also right this time.." wrote a fan.
"I hate Zak's guts. However he has spoken the truth this time," claimed another.
"This is very cheeky. Could be true, but cheeky," expressed another.
Max Verstappen has been heavily linked with a move away from Red Bull, with Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff expressing his desire to sign the Dutch driver.
F1 pundit reacts to Max Verstappen to Mercedes rumors
Former F1 driver and pundit Martin Brundle stated that he believed that Max Verstappen to Mercedes was not unfounded and could also be a dig at Red Bull.
Speaking with Sky Sports, the former McLaren and Benetton driver said:
"Nobody is absolutely, categorically denying that Max Verstappen is talking to Mercedes - that's Mercedes or team Verstappen, so something's up. From Mercedes' point of view, it would not only give them the fastest driver on the grid right now, it also takes him away from Red Bull. And if you took Verstappen out of Red Bull's results in recent seasons, that would look pretty dire."
Mercedes's two drivers, George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, have their contracts expiring at the end of the 2025 season. Both drivers have come up in the ranks, owing to heavy investment from the German team since their junior karting days.
