Max Verstappen F1 'fall out' blocked top Red Bull signing claims insider

Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen 'fall out' blocked top Red Bull signing - F1 insider

Did Verstappen's past F1 relationships prevent this driver signing?

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Friday 24 April 2026 08:15

One F1 insider has claimed that Max Verstappen blocked Red Bull from signing a rival due to their alleged 'falling out'.

Regardless of his team-mate at Red Bull, Verstappen has always emerged as the number one driver and undisputed team leader, whether up against Daniel Ricciardo or Sergio Perez.

Teaming up alongside the four-time world champion has been named as one of the most unenviable tasks in Formula 1, and has put an end to many a young Red Bull hopeful's career at the team, including Alex Albon, Pierre Gasly, Liam Lawson and most recently Yuki Tsunoda.

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During the 2024 season, Verstappen's team-mate at the time Perez was under fire for his poor performances - and with Carlos Sainz made a free agent after being replaced by Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari, the Spaniard's name was linked to Red Bull.

A return to the Red Bull family never materialised for Sainz however, with speculation that Verstappen had blocked a move for his former team-mate.

Both Verstappen and Sainz raced alongside one another at Red Bull's sister team Toro Rosso (now Racing Bulls) in 2015, although Sainz confirmed that any ill feeling was untrue speaking on the High Performance podcast last year.

He explained: "The only thing I can say is I genuinely get on well with Max. This is what people don't see from the outside. We had a rivalry in our first year in Formula 1 in Toro Rosso, but it was a relatively healthy rivalry in terms of him and me the way we used to go about racing.

"And now we get on really well, so if that's the reason I don't understand why they wouldn't want me next to Max because I think we would actually be a very strong pairing in Formula 1."

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Windsor disagrees

During a livestream on his YouTube channel, Peter Windsor was asked about the future of Sainz at Williams and went on to assess his options on the grid.

When he got to Red Bull, Windsor appeared to have missed Sainz's episode of Jake Humphrey's podcast and claimed that Verstappen blocked the Spaniard's move to Red Bull back in 2024.

"He had a chance at Red Bull, at that point when he left Ferrari, and I don't think it happened because I think he and Max [Verstappen] fell out when they were at Toro Rosso," Windsor explained.

"I think the problem was Max on this occasion. I don't think he accepted Carlos to be honest, I think he said 'no let's get a young guy'.

"So I think that's the problem and if that's the case I don't think he'll ever go to Red Bull again."

Windsor also stated that not signing for Audi was a missed opportunity for Sainz, adding: "There was at least a five-month window when he could have done a deal with Audi and joined Audi alongside Nico Hulkenberg and would be part of Audi's future and just do a brilliant job as we know Carlos would. But he didn't.

"I guess at the time, as with all of these Formula 1 people, he's thinking incredibly short-term: 'Williams have got more points, Williams are faster than Sauber at the moment so I've got to go with Williams, they've got the Mercedes engine'. And so, that's why he did it. Massive mistake, because he wasn't taking a medium or a long-term view at all of his future, it was just an immediate fix.

"And yeah, he's had a couple of good races, but does he have a future at Williams? Not in the way he would have had a future had he gone to Audi.

"But will he go to Audi now? There may be a slot if and when Nico Hulkenberg stops racing. But even then, Nico's in the brand ambassador role now that Carlos could have had and that ship's probably sailed. I don't believe in any way they'd change [Gabriel] Bortoleto, he's a talent of the future. So I can't see that combination changing, it's a pretty good driver lineup."

Written by

Sheona Mountford - F1 Journalist

Sheona Mountford is a motorsport journalist specialising in F1. As a writer and contributor, she covers a wide range of motorsport series from F1 to F1 Academy, responsible for breaking news, live race coverage and in depth analysis of the sport and the culture around it.

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F1 Red Bull Max Verstappen Carlos Sainz