Why Red Bull are ‘nervous’ about Max Verstappen’s F1 future

Karun Chandhok has revealed Red Bull are “nervous” about Max Verstappen’s future in F1.

Verstappen saw his four-year reign at the top of F1 ended by Lando Norris as he narrowly missed out on winning a fifth consecutive world championship in 2025 by just two points to the McLaren driver.

The Dutchman’s future is set to become a hot topic in 2026 depending on Red Bull’s performance and how competitive their first-ever in-house power unit is when F1 enters its new era of regulations.

Sky Sports F1 pundit and ex driver Chandhok said some within Red Bull have shared concerns about Verstappen’s future with the team.

“There's also consideration as to how much Max will enjoy the new generation car,” Chandhok told The F1 Show podcast.

“There's a few people at Red Bull - at the airport in Sao Paulo I was chatting to some of them at the gate - and they were all a bit nervous.

“[They were] saying, 'Actually, we're a bit concerned Max just might not enjoy F1 2026, as much'.

“That might be tricky, because it is a very different style of racing.

“They hope that's not the case. If that is the case, it might favour the other car - in this case, Hadjar.”

When asked if Verstappen could walk away mid-season if the car is not to his liking, Chandhok replied: This year proved actually, that he doesn't do that, does he? He doesn't walk away from it.”

Verstappen has admitted that his long-term future in F1 will largely depend on how much “fun” the next generation of cars are to drive.

Verstappen ‘will be in the best car in 2027’

Verstappen has continually been linked with the likes of Mercedes and Aston Martin over the past year.

Chandhok believes the 28-year-old will have the luxury of choosing where he wants to drive in 2027 if Red Bull do not deliver him a competitive car.

“Max Verstappen will be in the best car in 2027. Which one that will be, we don’t know yet. He doesn’t know yet,” Chandhok added.

“The first quarter of next year will be a look, watch, analyse, think period for him. I think by the summer he will pick and choose.

“Every single team on that grid will open their arms and welcome him, because as we’ve all established, he is the top dog on the grid today.

“The bigger question really is about the powertrains, are they going to hit the ground running?

“If they have got a strong power unit next year and the car’s good, and you have to say they’ve recovered their direction towards the end of the season, then there’s no reason for him to leave, in an environment he’s the number one driver unchallenged, but we will see.”