Red Bull motorsport consultant Helmut Marko said after last Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix that the team was concerned that Dutch drivers might leave at the end of the season.
Verstappen only finished sixth after he won in Japan a week, while McLaren’s Oscar Piastri won from pole with the fastest knee.
“I don’t know.” When an Italian journalist asked before the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Verstappen said why Ferrari was not used as a possible destination, as well as Mercedes and Aston Martin.
“I mean, honestly, a lot of people are talking about it except me.
“I just want to focus on my car and work with people on the team. This is the only thing I think about in Formula 1 at the moment. I’m very relaxed.” Verstappen has signed a 2028 contract with the exit clause since May 2022, and he led the championship for more than two years until McLaren’s Lando Norris won the opening ceremony of the Australian season. The Red Bull driver still had only eight points Norris, ranked third, but McLaren won three of four games.
“I just kept working hard and kept trying to improve the car. Naturally, Bahrain wasn’t a pleasant weekend for us. I think we were very disappointed with it.”
“We just keep trying to improve the car, come up with new ideas to try the car. The competition is tough. That’s how I’ve been in a few weeks, just trying to improve the situation.”
The Dutch driver also reportedly asked his manager Raymond Vermeulen to yell at Marko after the game in Sakier.
The champion said: “They’re just a conversation about everything, and I think that’s OK.”
“People can always see it in their own way, how people talk about things. But I think we’re all frustrated with the results, of course, something went wrong in the game.
“I think it’s what my manager Raymond and Helmut talked about, and even (the boss) Christian (Horner) showed up. So they all talked. I think it should be allowed. We all care about the end of the day.
“We care about the team, we care about the people, we care about the results. I think that’s normal.”
