Max Verstappen faces a famous Ferrari problem... and a Fernando Alonso one too

It has come slightly earlier in the Max Verstappen and Red Bull cycle than expected but a question that seemed utterly absurd even a year ago now looks about as relevant as ever.

In Formula 1, where will Max Verstappen be driving beyond this season? Ferrari, Mercedes, Aston Martin... the world endurance championship! You can have your say by the way at the bottom of this article with our GPFans poll.

Let's get some formalities out the way. Red Bull, 'right now' is the answer. Verstappen is under contract there until 2028 and neither party have publicly flirted with the idea of that ending soon.

But while Red Bull's sudden decline around this time last year was rather unexpected, the relative total collapse from utter domination inside a year has sent off alarm bells inside the team who in the last few years have seen key team personnel stream out too. The effect of that now seems to be coming to the surface and it might be offering Christian Horner his toughest period as team boss yet.

Even as recently as the end of 2024, the narrative was that Max Verstappen dragged a good but not the best car to another drivers' title and that Sergio Perez's shocking season was down to a driver running low on confidence and a struggle to deal with a curious RB20 car.

Red Bull problems extend beyond 'driver two'

But after seeing a previously competent looking Liam Lawson fold like a pack of cards as Red Bull's second driver in just two races, and Yuki Tsunoda so far appearing to do a 'fair' job by just bagging minor points - we are now starting to realise the absolutely remarkable job Verstappen is perfoming to still even be a title contender after just four races.

For Red Bull this should sound huge alarms and following a miserable Bahrain Grand Prix where just about everything went wrong from brakes, to pit-stops and strategy (and yet Verstappen still picked up a top six result) the reports of a crisis meeting appear utterly fair.

Red Bull should learn from F1 rivals Ferrari

For their sake, it should be one focused on long term as well as short because right now they are heading for a 2009-2014 Ferrari era trap. Ferrari's problem during these six seasons is that for most of this timeline they had a car that was on the cusp of, if not, challenging for the world championship under what could be considered a peak Fernando Alonso. Only a dominant Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel appeared to stand ahead of them.

In reality it was just the Spaniard driving a bog standard car (by Ferrari's very high standards) and making competent team-mates look poor in the process (sound familiar, Sergio and Liam?).

Felipe Massa for instance as Ferrari No 2 was nowhere near a title at this time - damn he wasn't even winning races by this point! By the time 2014 rolled around and the hybrid era started, Ferrari's goose was cooked. Not even Alonso could make the awful F14 T competitive - grabbing just two podiums. Kimi Raikkonen came in as Massa's replacement and the 2007 world champion, who was winning races with Lotus the previous year, couldn't even bag a top three finish. Ferrari had diminished into a midfield team without ever realising it.

Verstappen must avoid Alonso mistake

The Alonso problem though also hits Verstappen. How long should a driver of his calibre put up with Red Bull's shortcomings? He may have a contract for 2028 but he wouldn't be the first driver to end one of those early. Alonso stuck around at Ferrari for far too long and while his McLaren move was ill-fated there was little to suggest he would have been able to win the title had he stuck with them another two years at least anyway.

Big name teams doesn't mean big performance and if anyone knows too well about that, it's Alonso. For Verstappen, arguably by far the best driver on the grid, Alonso's career should act as a warning of being in the right team at the wrong time. For Red Bull, Alonso's peak years at Ferrari should be a reminder of just how much of a mess they could really be in if they didn't have such a remarkable driver in the Dutchman at the wheel of their car.

F1 HEADLINES: Max Verstappen in Bahrain Grand Prix tirade as FIA announce late disqualification

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