Verstappen F1 future complicated again by father's remarks

Jos Verstappen has once again spoken out on the Formula 1 future of his son, four-time drivers' champion Max Verstappen.

The Dutchman claimed his fourth straight world title in Las Vegas last year, shrugging off a tumultuous year within the Red Bull team to stay top of the pack.

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However, the Dutchman faced a 10-race winless drought in the middle of the season as Red Bull suffered a huge drop-off in the performance of their RB20, allowing Lando Norris and McLaren to put up a huge championship fight.

While Norris fell short of eclipsing Verstappen, McLaren stole the constructors' crown from Red Bull, as the Milton Keynes outfit had to settle for a lowly third, with Ferrari also overtaking them at the end of the season.

Verstappen's Red Bull future dilemma

Red Bull's 2024 decline from supreme dominance to struggling to put together consecutive victories has led some to suggest they may already be facing an uphill battle in 2025.

McLaren are set to be strong again, with the ever-growing driver partnership of Norris and Oscar Piastri, while Ferrari now have a seven-time world champion in Lewis Hamilton sat alongside the supremely talented Charles Leclerc.

Verstappen is contracted with the team until 2028, but there are believed to be exit clauses within his mammoth contract based on the team's ability to give him a championship-contending car.

Now, the four-time champion's father Jos Verstappen has suggested that his son's future is not 100 per cent certain. Earlier this year, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said that Verstappen was his number one driver target, leading to some strong rumours that the Dutchman could end up there at some point in the future.

"Red Bull has to build a car that is no longer so difficult to drive. If you look at the second half of 2024, you can't be optimistic," Jos Verstappen said in an interview with the Münchner Merkur/tz media group.

When asked whether his son's future was open, the 52-year-old replied: "Everything is possible. He can stay at Red Bull if he sees a purpose in it. His goal is to be able to win races. If he feels that this is no longer possible at Red Bull, a change is not out of the question."

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