Red Bull 'won't come back' as Verstappen tipped to leave

Former F1 winner Riccardo Patrese has warned that Red Bull's current decline in performance and relevance may be terminal.

The 1992 championship runner-up pointed to the very public departure of a number of key figures from the team over the last 18 months, warning that the people at the top of the organisation shape the team.

Red Bull have lost their sporting director, head of strategy and chief designer in the last year and a half, with the loss of the latter – Adrian Newey – a particular blow coming into one of the biggest regulatory shifts the sport has seen.

All of that, plus a drop in performance which sees the team planted in fourth in the constructors' championship, spelled the end for Christian Horner's 20-year reign as team principal too, stripping the team of another leader.

Max Verstappen has been single-handedly dragging the team to the top half of the standings this year, contributing 187 of the team's 194 points, but he has also been tipped to walk out the door since Laurent Mekies replaced Horner last month.

Verstappen exit from Red Bull on the cards

Speaking to Mega Casino List this week, six-time grand prix winner Patrese said: "I think that Red Bull is off. They cannot come back. Why should they? From my point of view, they don’t come back. If they don't have the right person, any team can drop away, and they cannot go to the top.

"When Ferrari had Michael Schumacher, Ross Brawn, Rory Byrne and Jean Todt, that was making the difference. They were at the top. When these people disappeared, they were still saying,  ‘Let's hope next year, let's hope next year.’

"But they never came back because even when Raikkonen won the title in 2007, the car was in decline. Other teams developed better cars, and they never came back. If you look at all the teams, even Williams, when the good people disappear, they still exist but are not winning.

"I think Red Bull is going to be like this. No more Horner, Newey, Wheatley, so at the end of the day, they are going backwards.

"Maybe next year they will survive because they have Verstappen, maybe with one win, then a podium, then another podium, then a fifth place. But then, when Verstappen leaves, forget it."

F1 HEADLINES: Lewis Hamilton error emerges as FIA penalty confirmed for next race

READ MORE: F1 team change name ahead of Dutch GP

READ MORE: Italian media claim Ferrari left with 'no choice' over Lewis Hamilton future

READ MORE: George Russell accepts Mercedes F1 reality

Related