Red Bull fired F1 warning about hurting Max Verstappen with major 2024 change

15 November 2023 , 13:45

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Max Verstappen has a Red Bull contract until 2028 (Image: Hasan Bratic/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)

Red Bull have been warned not to rock the boat by rushing to replace Sergio Perez as team-mate to Max Verstappen.

Perez has been comprehensively beaten by his team-mate in all three seasons in which they have worked together so far. Verstappen has won the championship every year during that period, while Perez looks likely to secure second place for the first time.

Despite that achievement, it has been a rocky year for the Mexican. He started the season with two wins from four and threatened to challenge for the championship. But he hasn't tasted victory since while Verstappen has dominated the season.

His patchy form has seen questions raised once again over his future with the team. Perez's current contract expires at the end of next season while there have been some suggestions that the team might even look to bring in a fresh face before 2024.

But former Formula 1 driver Felipe Massa thinks Red Bull should stick with their current winning formula. "As long as Max is happy and the team wins both the drivers' and constructors' championship, I think it would be wise to leave things as they are now," he told the Dutch Formule 1 magazine.

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Plenty of potential suitors have been linked, should Red Bull decide to make a change. Lando Norris has been consistently linked with the team for several years and has held talks over a potential switch in the past, before deciding to commit to McLaren.

Most recently, bogus rumours suggested Fernando Alonso might be ready to make the switch. Perhaps even more ridiculous is the notion that Lewis Hamilton might be willing to defect from Mercedes to join forces with Verstappen.

Massa is certain that none of them would be able to get the better of Verstappen, even in the same machinery, so dominant the Dutchman has been. "What Max is showing this season is of an unprecedented level," he declared.

"Even if you put Lewis Hamilton or Fernando Alonso in the other car, I'm not sure much would change. Maybe a little bit, but believe me, they wouldn't beat Max either." Meanwhile, team principal Christian Horner has dismissed the idea of Hamilton ever joining Red Bull while Verstappen is still racing there.

"A Verstappen and a Hamilton, that's never going to work because you kill your own car," he told the Eff Won with DRS podcast, hosted by Hollywood actor Dax Shepard. "You need to have a dynamic where the drivers drive for the team, not just for themselves. Otherwise, it can become very divisive."

Daniel Moxon