F1 champion Max Verstappen teases 'special' Red Bull announcement

Yuki Tsunoda, Max Verstappen, Red Bull, VCARB, Japan, 2024 — Photo: © IMAGO

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Verstappen teases 'special' announcement

Max Verstappen has teased fans ahead of the 2025 Japanese GP

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Wednesday 26 March 2025 14:06 Updated: 14:16

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Max Verstappen has teased something ‘special’ for his Formula 1 fans ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix via a Discord announcement.

The four-time world champion has won the last three editions of the Japanese GP, but a victory may be a little harder to achieve in 2025 given Red Bull’s current form against rivals McLaren.

Regardless, Verstappen is clearly looking forward to the race at Suzuka and posted a cryptic message via his Discord that he was ‘working on something special’ alongside an emoji of the Japanese flag.

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The message has led fans to speculate as to what Verstappen could be looking forward to, with one user theorising that it could be a ‘special helmet design’.

However, fans will have to wait until Thursday to find out what the champion has planned, with Verstappen.com’s official admin seemingly confirming the date for the full announcement.

Is Verstappen set to gain a new Red Bull team-mate?

Whilst the headlines around Red Bull are focused on who will be Verstappen’s team-mate in Japan, fans did not seem to think, nor did the Dutchman suggest, that the announcement was linked to the current speculation.

The main team's current driver Liam Lawson has failed to make it out of Q1 or score a single point across the first two grands prix, with recent reports suggesting that he will be replaced at Suzuka by Yuki Tsunoda.

Red Bull are yet to officially confirm whether Lawson will retain his seat, but team chiefs Christian Horner and Helmut Marko have allegedly met following the Chinese GP to discuss the team’s future.

Verstappen on the other hand has made the best of the temperamental RB21 during the first two races, finishing P2 and P4 in Australia and China respectively, earning him second place in the drivers’ standings where he is only eight points behind Lando Norris.

Red Bull Max Verstappen McLaren Japanese Grand Prix Suzuka