Red Bull F1 2.0: The three-point masterplan to kickstart the Max Verstappen dynasty

Red Bull

Red Bull 2.0: The three-point masterplan to kickstart the Max Verstappen dynasty

Red Bull is changing...

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Thursday 2 July 2026 10:57

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The Christian Horner era is very much over at F1 giant Red Bull, this is now Max Verstappen's team. This is Red Bull 2.0.

The astonishing talent drain in Milton Keynes in the last 24 months means this unit no longer resembles the powerhouse that was such a massive player in the sport during Horner's 20-year reign.

Verstappen is the last superstar standing as Red Bull begin the long road back to glory, and now they need to start acting like it.

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If you tuned into last weekend's Austrian Grand Prix then you may be of the impression that the bleakest part of Red Bull's 2026 F1 transformation is over. That is not the case, there is still much work to be done and it all starts with Verstappen.

The mighty Dutchman showed Red Bull are still capable of fighting at the front thanks to that significant upgrades package they brought to their home race.

Verstappen was unlucky to miss out on pole at the Red Bull Ring as he crashed out in qualifying (through no fault of his own) and then challenged the dominant Mercedes all the way to the line, eventually failing to catch race winner George Russell by only 1.6 seconds.

So this was progress for Red Bull, but it was only the start. Verstappen's much-publicised exit clause looms in a few short weeks and securing his long-term future is priority number one.

It is time to set in motion a laser-focused three-point plan to underpin the Verstappen dynasty, a new era where he is the undoubted team leader the and key to to everything. It is time to build with him and build around him.

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Red Bull can be great again, with Verstappen as leader

Last year's race at the Red Bull Ring marked the beginning of the end for Horner.

In the 12 months since, many significant names have either followed him out the door or announced their intention to exit, leaving Verstappen with a tough decision to make.

Should the four-time world champion chase a seat that may not be available elsewhere on the grid in hope of finding the most competitive car? Or stick with the environment he has known for his whole career?

The Horner era is well and truly over but the Verstappen era at Red Bull could be just as good.

Mekies was a great replacement for Horner - he is level-headed, straight-talking and doesn't stir up unnecessary drama.

In fact, the Frenchman can often be found in an FIA press conference laughing off his eighth question in a row about Verstappen's future.

Just last week this happened again in Austria where Mekies reiterated: "I’m not asking Max every week if he’s going to stay. Max has made clear to us that he wants to continue with the team. It’s equally clear that he needs a fast car for him to be happy."

If, as Mekies says, Verstappen truly does want to stay, then there are three things Red Bull must do to cement the four-time champion as their team leader and lock him down until at least 2028.

Exit clause is a permanent distraction, so remove it

Firstly, constant talk of Verstappen's exit clause is just causing a headache for Red Bull and distracting from the work that needs doing on the Dutchman's side of the garage.

Red Bull aren't entirely to blame for this, there is of course Verstappen's manager Raymond Vermeulen who confirmed his client does have a contract clause. It takes two to tango.

The exact details of the clause have not been confirmed publicly, but it's believed that if Verstappen sits outside the top two in the drivers' standings by the time the summer break rolls around (after this month's Hungarian GP) then he can activate an early exit.

Even after his best result of the season in Austria, Verstappen is way down the championship order in P7, so all this talk of contract clause terms seems pointless considering he has no choice of leaping up to P2 over the next few weeks anyway.

To move on from the rumours and solidify Verstappen's position as Red Bull's new leader, they must buy out that exit clause.

The stories circulating in the paddock this summer are almost identical to the contract clause rumours which spread in 2025 and if Red Bull don't bite the bullet and find a way to remove that option from his contract, they will have to deal with speculation about his future for every single summer which follows.

If they truly want to build a future where he is the centrepiece, that cannot happen.

Mark Mateschitz is rumoured to not be in favour of a Verstappen exit clause buyout

Give Verstappen a real seat at the table

When you look across the grid, the argument that comes up regarding Verstappen and a potential rival move always comes from the team's senior leadership who argue they wouldn't be doing their job if they weren't keeping an eye on the future of a four-time champion.

Toto Wolff retains a significant ownership stake in Mercedes and therefore loves to hand his drivers a one-year extension, perhaps just in case Verstappen opts to activate an early exit and jump into the seat he knows Wolff is willing to give him (see step one regarding the need to buy out said clause).

Step two of Red Bull's Verstappen makeover/takeover should see the energy drink giants give the 28-year-old a stake in the operation.

Whether that be through shares in Racing Bulls or any other type of ownership stake, Verstappen needs to feel like an integral part of the entire operation and tying him to it financially and holistically would give him a feeling of actual ownership.

In his championship-winning years at Red Bull, Verstappen had an entire network of senior leaders to look up to in the form of Horner and long-time motorsport advisor Helmut Marko.

Yes, Mark Mateschitz and Chalerm Yoovidhya of Red Bull GmbH still remain, but allowing Verstappen to step up whilst still driving would help to kickstart his reign at the helm of the team.

Mekies is terrific operationally and has a strong background in the FIA and engineering side of the sport.

But Verstappen already plays a major part in the Red Bull marketing machine and through his GT3 exploits and Nurburgring outings, he is proving that he is doing it like no other driver on the modern grid, rewriting what it means to be an F1 driver.

The 'Max Verstappen' effect is in full force and Red Bull would be foolish not to capitalise on it.

Max Verstappen's appearance at the Nurburgring 24 Hours brought in a record-breaking crowd in 2026

Smells like team spirit

The third and final step is for Red Bull to accept that they must now build their F1 operation around Verstappen.

Whether they want to admit it or not, it happened for years with the 'second seat' curse as drivers complained that the car was always built for Verstappen.

They appear to have finally found a robust, hard-working younger pilot in Isack Hadjar, so as long as he understands his role (for now at least), then he too could go far in F1.

Meanwhile Mekies has spoken about the exciting talent Red Bull have coming through their ranks and they now must continue to restock in the image of Verstappen.

What Red Bull have that no other team does (aside from Ferrari of course) is a unique culture.

As a company and a philosophy Red Bull was built on risk and drama, and to a large extent it was Horner's culture.

It’s Verstappen’s team now though and the sooner they accept that, the sooner they will get back to winning ways.

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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F1 Red Bull Max Verstappen