[Artemis]

Originally Posted by M5Rick

''To be or not to be, that is the question''.
William Shakespeare.

"To be at RBR or not to be at RBR, that is the 2026 question".

Well, the answer is that Verstappen will no longer drive for RBR in 2026. Maybe he'll join Mercedes, Aston Martin or Ferrari, or takes a 1 year sabbatical to spend time with his girlfriend carrying their soon-to-be-born child. But at RBR, his seat will be vacant 2026 for Sainz or someone else. I expect Verstappen's RBR days to end at Abu Dhabi this December.

And Hamilton at Ferrari gives Schumacher's "comeback" 2010-2012 déja-vu vibes: midfielder on track - race win for his bank account. Ferrari expected GP podium finishes from the get-go for the truckloads of money invested. He must deliver: a China Sprint medal is nice but they want GP trophies. If he fails to become a GP podium finish regular by the summer break, 2026 prospects will become clouded. "And thus the native hue of resolution is sicklied over with the pale cast of thought. And enterprises of great pith and moment with this regard their currents turn awry, and lose the name of action. Soft you now !"

"Michael Schumacher says new Mercedes F1 car can return him to top step of grand prix podium
A confident Michael Schumacher set his sights on a return to the Formula One podium on Tuesday after Mercedes unveiled the car that could make him a winner again.
Great expectations: German F1 great Michael Schumacher is expecting big things from Mercedes' latest Formula One car"
Telegraph Feb 1, 2011
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/mo...ix-podium.html

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by Artemis

"To be at RBR or not to be at RBR, that is the 2026 question".

Well, the answer is that Verstappen will no longer drive for RBR in 2026. Maybe he'll join Mercedes, Aston Martin or Ferrari, or takes a 1 year sabbatical to spend time with his girlfriend carrying their soon-to-be-born child. But at RBR, his seat will be vacant 2026 for Sainz or someone else. I expect Verstappen's RBR days to end at Abu Dhabi this December.

Horner has said MAX will remain for '26 at least and as none of us know any better I'm going with Christian.
AM are a big unknown with an upset Newey under pressure not conforming to Stroll's sell to Arabs target, Ferrari may get better but as you know we have heard it so many times before and MAX will be too expensive for Mercedes with Wolff apparently not interested anymore, so betting on blue is the right thing to do. LEW will likely remain in Ferrari simply because of his huge monetary contract and status.

[Artemis]

Originally Posted by M5Rick

Horner has said MAX will remain for '26 at least and as none of us know any better I'm going with Christian.

Horner knows very well that, without Verstappen, RBR is in shambles and at risk to vanish into oblivion. And the RBPT/Ford engine echoes are worrisome. What else do you expect Horner to say ? He has definitely a personal interest to keep Verstappen on board.

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by Artemis

Horner knows very well that, without Verstappen, RBR is in shambles and at risk to vanish into oblivion. And the RBPT/Ford engine echoes are worrisome. What else do you expect Horner to say ? He has definitely a personal interest to keep Verstappen on board.

For sure but the buck doesn't stop there. RBR is MAX's born to F1 home team and with whatever has happened there is in the past now, Newey was easily upset so he left and it hasn't affected Max that much with Marko remaining to his delight. RBR is still the fly me friendly team he knows and others rumoured to offering him the world to join them just don't cut it realistically behind the scenes.

[Artemis]

Originally Posted by M5Rick

For sure but the buck doesn't stop there. RBR is MAX's born to F1 home team and with whatever has happened there is in the past now, Newey was easily upset so he left and it hasn't affected Max that much with Marko remaining to his delight. RBR is still the fly me friendly team he knows and others rumoured to offering him the world to join them just don't cut it realistically behind the scenes.

Helmut Marko, Verstappen's mecenas to get an F1 seat, earlier this month.

To get a glimpse of Verstappen's mindset, better bet on what Marko says about his pupil than what Horner the commercial shark tells the press to save his own future in F1.

Marko has 'great concern' over Verstappen future
BBC - 14 April 2025
https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/a...s/c9dj0elnexyo

Red Bull motorsport adviser Helmut Marko says he has "great concern" about Max Verstappen's future with the team in the context of their current struggles.
The four-time champion finished sixth in the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday, while Oscar Piastri scored McLaren's third win in four races so far this year.
Dutchman Verstappen is third in the drivers' championship, eight points behind leader Lando Norris of McLaren.
Marko told Sky Germany: "The concern is great. 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 has a contract with Red Bull until 2028. But Marko told BBC Sport this month that it contains a performance clause that could allow him to leave the team.
The wording of this clause is not known publicly but it effectively says that Red Bull have to provide Verstappen with a winning car.
Verstappen won the Japanese Grand Prix a week before Bahrain but that victory was founded on a pole position lap that many F1 observers regarded as one of the greatest of all time.
Because overtaking was next to impossible at Suzuka, Verstappen was able to hold back the McLarens of Norris and Piastri and take his first win of the year.
Verstappen has qualified third, fourth and seventh for the other three races in Australia, China and Bahrain.
The Red Bull is on average over all qualifying sessions this year the second fastest car but 0.214 seconds a lap slower than the McLaren.
Verstappen has complained all year about balance problems with the Red Bull, which is unpredictable on corner entry and has mid-corner understeer.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner admitted after the race in Bahrain that the car's balance problems were fundamentally similar to the ones that made the second half of last year a struggle for Verstappen.
He won just twice in the final 13 races of last season, but managed to win his fourth world title because of the huge lead he built up when Red Bull were in dominant form in the first five races of the season.
Horner also said the team were having difficulties with correlation between their wind tunnel and on-track performance. Essentially, the car performs differently on track than the team's simulation tools say it should.
Verstappen had a difficult race in Bahrain including delays at both pit stops, one with the pit-lane traffic light system and one with fitting a front wheel.
At one stage he was running last, and he managed to snatch sixth place from Alpine's Pierre Gasly only on the last lap.
Verstappen said that the hot weather and rough track surface had accentuated Red Bull's problems.
He said: "Here you just get punished a bit harder when you have big balance issues because the Tarmac is so aggressive.
"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. We tried a lot on the set-up and basically all of it didn't work, didn't give us a clear direction to work in."
Verstappen has said this year that he is "relaxed" about his future.
Any decision about moving teams for 2026 is complicated by the fact that F1 is introducing new chassis and engine rules that amount to the biggest regulation change in the sport's history, and it is impossible to know which team will be in the best shape.
But it is widely accepted in the paddock that Mercedes are looking the best in terms of engine performance for 2026.
Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff has made no secret of his desire to sign Verstappen.
The two parties had talks last season but have yet to have any discussions this season about the future."

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by Artemis

You forgot 2018 but - I see what you did there - you inaccurately added 2021. And WDC P3 in 2023, not P2.

2025 adaptation to Ferrari ain't going as smooth as planned for Hamilton (WDC P7 is not where he should be with a Ferrari). About time to get his act together. Maybe upgrades at Imola will help.

Some recent press suggests that Verstappen could take Hamilton's seat in 2026 in the event of an early departure by Hamilton. Not what Vasseur expects, but the results should improve to avoid Ferrari tifosi turning against him.

"Ferrari F1: Max Verstappen could be tempted to join the Scuderia"
https://www.italpassion.fr/en/compet...he-scuderia-2/

Attachment 3722785

Yeah . And MAX looks fantastic in red

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by AmuroRay

6 WDC AND WCC. The minute they didn’t their car was a mess 2024/5 was all Lewis input and testing and Merc are tied for 2nd.

FTFY

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by M5Rick

For sure but the buck doesn't stop there. RBR is MAX's born to F1 home team and with whatever has happened there is in the past now, Newey was easily upset so he left and it hasn't affected Max that much with Marko remaining to his delight. RBR is still the fly me friendly team he knows and others rumoured to offering him the world to join them just don't cut it realistically behind the scenes.

The boats in the Miami 'fake marina might get rough water (!)

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by Artemis

Helmut Marko, Verstappen's mecenas to get an F1 seat, earlier this month.

To get a glimpse of Verstappen's mindset, better bet on what Marko says about his pupil than what Horner the commercial shark tells the press to save his own future in F1.

Marko has 'great concern' over Verstappen future
BBC - 14 April 2025
https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/a...s/c9dj0elnexyo

Red Bull motorsport adviser Helmut Marko says he has "great concern" about Max Verstappen's future with the team in the context of their current struggles.
The four-time champion finished sixth in the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday, while Oscar Piastri scored McLaren's third win in four races so far this year.
Dutchman Verstappen is third in the drivers' championship, eight points behind leader Lando Norris of McLaren.
Marko told Sky Germany: "The concern is great. 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 has a contract with Red Bull until 2028. But Marko told BBC Sport this month that it contains a performance clause that could allow him to leave the team.
The wording of this clause is not known publicly but it effectively says that Red Bull have to provide Verstappen with a winning car."

''Provide Verstappen with a winning car''. The very wording does appear clear cut at first but no team can guarantee a winning car hence the wording may actually have no exact relevance.
We have seen the fastest car on occasions not winning.

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

Yeah . And MAX looks fantastic in red

Agreed Max would stand out in any colour except green
Ferrari are Drivers Title starved since 2007 and you could forgive a layman for thinking that the Scuderia is thrashing around the bottom of the barrel.

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by Artemis

Horner knows very well that, without Verstappen, RBR is in shambles and at risk to vanish into oblivion. And the RBPT/Ford engine echoes are worrisome. What else do you expect Horner to say ? He has definitely a personal interest to keep Verstappen on board.

MV is staying.
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...Su3OQzPpSAMz3j

[remesh28018]

1. Nor
2. Ver
3. Pia
4. Rus
5. Lec
6. Kim
7. Ham
8. Alb
9. Sai
10. Tsu

Originally Posted by guidok

f1 2025: Us gp - miami (may 4)

[Artemis]

Originally Posted by M5Rick

MV is staying.
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...Su3OQzPpSAMz3j

That's Christian Horner flipping...

[Rono63]

Originally Posted by M5Rick

Agreed Max would stand out in any colour except green
Ferrari are Drivers Title starved since 2007 and you could forgive a layman for thinking that the Scuderia is thrashing around the bottom of the barrel.

I think Max would look great in Papaya alongside his new teammate Oscar.

McLaren will have the 2026 MB power plant so should still one of the quickest cars.

[MoeTE87]

1. Max

Not sure on the rest.. lol

[dfox]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

The boats in the Miami 'fake marina might get rough water (!)

Weather in Miami is fickle, I wouldn't but on anything but the radar and what the clouds look like...

[dfox]

Originally Posted by M5Rick

MV is staying.
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...Su3OQzPpSAMz3j

I feel like he said the same thing about Checo - until he didn't. I'm sure Horner is shaking in his boots.

[Artemis]

Originally Posted by dfox

Weather in Miami is fickle, I wouldn't but on anything but the radar and what the clouds look like...

Wind and the fake marina are a given though.

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by Artemis

That's Christian Horner flipping...

Attachment 3723087

Christian always has a catch net

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by dfox

I feel like he said the same thing about Checo - until he didn't. I'm sure Horner is shaking in his boots.

Two different drivers and Checo with his handsome payoff always had Caddy on his mind.

[Artemis]

Originally Posted by M5Rick

Christian always has a catch net

Merc-Merc...

[wizardofOz]

Originally Posted by dfox

Weather in Miami is fickle, I wouldn't but on anything but the radar and what the clouds look like...

If it's not humid, that will be like winning the lottery