Max Verstappen Red Bull F1 fear grows after key figure exit

Red Bull

Max Verstappen Red Bull fear grows after key figure exit

Craig Skinner departed earlier this year

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Sunday 10 May 2026 09:37

Fears about Max Verstappen's Red Bull F1 future have resurfaced, following reports of a sacking of a key member of the team.

Craig Skinner worked with Red Bull from 2006 until the start of this year, when it was revealed that he had resigned from his position as chief designer at the Milton Keynes-based outfit.

However, earlier this week, reports in Dutch media suggested that Skinner had indeed been sacked by Laurent Mekies and the team, and that he was not yet another team member who had decided to leave Red Bull after a plethora of resignations in recent years.

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Either way, his exit will have been a blow to Verstappen, who claimed all four of his drivers' championship titles with Skinner in the team. Overall, Skinner helped the team earn eight drivers' championships and six constructors' titles since joining in 2006, although he held many different roles, including deputy head of aerodynamics and chief aerodynamicist.

Verstappen and Red Bull now face the prospect of their 2027 car being built without the presence of either Adrian Newey or Skinner, hardly ideal when they are hoping to move back into championship contention after a poor start to the regulations overhaul.

Verstappen sees dominoes falling all around him

Verstappen is one of the most successful racers in F1 history, and it's already looking like a tall order for Red Bull to be able to keep hold of their star asset, despite the fact that he has a contract that runs until the end of 2028.

It's thought that Verstappen has exit clauses in that Red Bull deal, and with the team lagging behind in performance so far in 2026, they're hardly an attractive prospect for a man hoping to claim a fifth world championship title.

On top of this, several of Verstappen's key allies have left the team in recent seasons. Newey and Skinner on the car design side of things, old friend Helmut Marko, bosses Jonathan Wheatley and Christian Horner and of course his close friend Gianpiero Lambiase, who has been confirmed to be joining McLaren in 2028 at the latest.

It means that Verstappen may soon be the last one left of the 'old guard' that claimed so many titles in the early 2020s, and he now has a decision to make as to whether he wants to stick around for a complete rebuild of the outfit or not.

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