Max Verstappen makes it clear what Red Bull must do to overthrow McLaren

Max Verstappen believes Red Bull needs to go through another phase of rebuilding before it can fight for championships in Formula 1 again.

Red Bull has suffered a drastic fall from grace in F1 this year, with even four-time world champion Max Verstappen describing the RB21 as both slow and tricky to drive.

After 14 rounds, the Milton Keynes squad has scored just 194 points, less than half of what it had accumulated by the same stage of the season last year when it led the constructors’ championship.

For Verstappen, the team’s dip in form is simply part of F1’s natural cycle of competitiveness.

When he moved up to Red Bull’s senior team in 2016, it was going through a relatively difficult patch after years of success with his predecessor, Sebastian Vettel.

It took another five years before Red Bull won a title again, and the process involved the team splitting with long-time partner Renault to forge a new works alliance with Honda.

Max Verstappen warns that Red Bull must rebuild

The Dutchman believes the energy drinks giant is now going through a similar transitional phase again, with Christian Horner being dismissed as team principal and the squad preparing to run its in-house engine programme from 2026.

"The team has gone from winning championships before I arrived, to when I arrived, a bit through a rebuilding phase, and then we really hit the peak again of winning championships," he told F1’s official website.

"Now I feel like [it's] slight rebuilding. We're still, of course, a very strong team, but I do think that to make a step up again, there's slight rebuilding or restructuring maybe, and understanding a little bit more what's going on, and that of course takes a little bit of time, but hopefully not too much time."

He added: "I think that's also a bit the mentality of the team [to fight back from a dip], it's always been like that, so I'm not too worried about that."

Max Verstappen addresses Red Bull exit rumour

Verstappen has been the star performer for Red Bull, winning four drivers’ championships on the trot between 2021 and 2024.

However, an internal civil war and the decline in form led to speculation over whether he could break his contract and move elsewhere, and it was only over the Hungarian GP that he committed to staying at Red Bull for another season.

The Budapest round also marked his 200th race with Red Bull, cementing his status as the team’s longest-serving driver by a wide margin.

When asked about the rumours that surrounded his future, Verstappen said: "Well, the thing is that there's always other people speaking a lot, while I'm not really talking, because first of all, I don't need to, I don't need to say anything.

"I think that's also better for everyone, instead of just waffling things around. It makes no sense anyway, it's a bit of a waste of time, but for me I'm very focused on '26 with the team, to look ahead and make sure that we nail the regulations, and that we are competitive from the start."