Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko warns team must deliver improvements to retain star driver, as Verstappen grapples with car issues and mounting pressure from rivals.

Saudi Arabian Grand Prix | Jeddah | 18–20 April |

Race start: 18:00 BST Sunday

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen may be under contract through 2028, but mounting performance issues have cast doubt over his long-term future with the team. Speaking to Sky Germany ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Red Bull motorsport adviser Helmut Marko expressed “great concern” over whether the Dutchman will remain with the outfit if they cannot deliver a competitive car.

“The concern is great,” Marko said. “Improvements have to come in the near future so that he has a car with which he can win again. We have to create a basis with a car so that he can fight for the world championship.”

Verstappen currently sits third in the drivers’ standings, trailing championship leader Lando Norris of McLaren by eight points. His sixth-place finish in Bahrain was emblematic of a broader slump for Red Bull, with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri taking his team’s third win in four races.

Though Verstappen won the Japanese Grand Prix a week earlier, that victory was largely down to a standout qualifying lap at Suzuka and the difficulty of overtaking on the circuit. In contrast, his qualifying positions in Australia, China, and Bahrain—third, fourth, and seventh, respectively—have highlighted the inconsistency of the RB20.

Data reveals the Red Bull is the second-fastest car in qualifying this season, trailing McLaren by an average of 0.214 seconds per lap. Verstappen has repeatedly flagged the car’s balance as a key issue, pointing to unpredictable behavior on corner entry and understeer mid-turn.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner acknowledged after Bahrain that many of the car’s current issues mirror those that hampered the team in the second half of last season. Despite Verstappen clinching his fourth world title, he only managed two wins in the final 13 races after a dominant start to the 2024 campaign.

Horner also noted ongoing struggles with the correlation between Red Bull’s wind tunnel data and on-track performance—an issue that could complicate the team’s development efforts.

In Bahrain, Verstappen faced a litany of problems, including pit stop delays—one caused by pit-lane traffic lights and another due to difficulties fitting a front wheel. At one point, he found himself at the back of the field, salvaging sixth place only in the final lap with a pass on Alpine’s Pierre Gasly.

“Here you just get punished a bit harder when you have big balance issues because the tarmac is so aggressive,” Verstappen explained. “The wind is also quite high and the track has quite low grip, so everything is highlighted more. Just the whole weekend struggling a bit with brake feeling and stopping power, and besides that also very poor grip.”

While Verstappen has maintained a public stance of being “relaxed” about his future, speculation continues to swirl. Sources have indicated to BBC Sport that his contract contains a performance clause—believed to allow for an exit should Red Bull fail to provide a race-winning car.

Complicating matters is Formula 1’s looming 2026 regulation overhaul, which will usher in new chassis and power unit designs. With no clear front-runner for the new era, Verstappen faces a high-stakes decision should he consider a move.

Nonetheless, the paddock consensus suggests Mercedes is emerging as a strong contender in terms of power unit development. Team boss Toto Wolff has made no secret of his desire to lure Verstappen to Brackley, with discussions taking place last season. While no talks have occurred yet this year, the door remains open.

As the championship heads to Jeddah, all eyes will be on Red Bull to see whether it can reverse its slide—and whether Verstappen’s faith in the team holds.