Max Verstappen looking elsewhere? Red Bull rebuild could take 'three years'

Lambiase stood next to Verstappen in the Red Bull garage — Photo: © IMAGO

Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen looking elsewhere? Red Bull rebuild could take 'three years'

Max Verstappen's future has been a major talking point during the spring break

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Tuesday 21 April 2026 10:58

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An exit could be on the horizon for F1 champion Max Verstappen after one insider claimed Red Bull's rebuild could take 'two to three years'.

Red Bull's start to the new regulations cycle has seen them tumble away from leaders Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari, as Verstappen and Isack Hadjar contend with balance issues and fight for the last scraps of points in the midfield.

While the brand new Red Bull power unit is said to be their biggest asset, the chassis is negating any positive performance from their engine with Hadjar complaining after Japan that: "We have a good power unit. Engine’s good. It is just the chassis side is terrible, just slow in the corners.”

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When you then take into account the number of key departures from Red Bull's technical side in recent years, with Gianpiero Lambiase's move to McLaren also recently being announced, confidence that the team can rebuild to their race winning ways anytime soon remains scarce.

Altogether, alongside his distaste for the new cars, this paints a very concerning picture as to the future of star driver Verstappen, who is said to be 'seriously considering' retirement.

But could Lambiase's move to McLaren also open up a move to Woking for Verstappen?

F1 HEADLINES: Verstappen stunned by Mercedes issue, team boss admits role unsustainable

Schumacher: Verstappen will be looking elsewhere next year

Speaking to Sky Sports Germany, pundit and former driver Ralf Schumacher addressed Verstappen's future and claimed: "In my view, Max will be looking elsewhere next year."

"On the one hand, this could mean he leaves Red Bull because he no longer believes in the team and is calling it quits altogether – after all, he never tires of emphasising just how boring he finds his time in Formula 1.

"Or he could move to McLaren with his engineer, which would equally imply that negotiations are underway at McLaren and that Oscar Piastri – as we’ve seen before – will be heading to Red Bull.

"We mustn’t forget either that this exit clause, which was denied, appears to exist. And it doesn’t currently look as though Red Bull will be in a top position by the middle of the year. Accordingly, Verstappen is also free to do something like this."

Schumacher believes that Red Bull can rise again to the top of Formula 1, but caveated this with the fact it could take a long time and they need to build a 'new Red Bull'.

He concluded: "Red Bull is in the process of rebuilding, which I believe will take two to three years. They’ll need a knack for recruiting new people and building a new Red Bull.

"But I believe that, as a young, dynamic team, Red Bull is capable of pulling off such a rebuild a second time. It just takes a bit of time."

F1 Red Bull Max Verstappen Ralf Schumacher