In the second part of our exclusive interview with Max Verstappen, he rejects what has become a commonly held view in the F1 paddock.
Max Verstappen insists Red Bull is not in a “rebuild” phase, but merely that there is “fine-tuning” taking place at the six-time F1 constructors’ champions.
The energy drinks-backed team is no longer the formidable force that powered the Dutchman to each of his four drivers’ titles, and much has been made of the transitional period that has encompassed the late stages of the Christian Horner era and the early days of Laurent Mekies at the helm.
In the final year — or so — of the Briton’s tenure, Adrian Newey, Jonathan Wheatley and Will Courtenay all ended upwards of two decades of service to the team, since the fledgling project started in earnest, moving on to new homes in F1.
That trio headlined those exiting the team at the time, and that trend helped lay the foundation of what has become a prevailing narrative within the paddock: that there is a so-called brain drainhappening at Red Bull with key players and influential figures from its championship-winning heydays leaving; that the team is entering into the sort of rebuild akin to that of an NBA or NHL franchise.
Long-time race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase — who has been in Verstappen’s ear since his Red Bull debut at the Spanish Grand Prix in 2016, his famous maiden victory in F1 — announcing he will be leaving for McLaren has aided that perspective, and he is undeniably a loss, not only to the now-71-time grand prix winner but to the wider team as well.
But to Verstappen, more has been made of this pattern than is necessary. He feels there is often great drama — too much drama — surrounding a Red Bull departure, despite the fact it happens up and down the paddock as staff come and go at every team in Formula 1.
As part of his exclusive interview with RacingNews365, the 28-year-old elaborated on this stance and is adamant that the backbone of the Milton Keynes-based squad remains as robust as ever.
“I wouldn’t call it rebuilding,” the Dutchman says. “There’s nothing really to rebuild because there is a very strong structure in the team that keeps on going.