Formula 1 is headed for a month-long break during April after the ongoing Iranian attacks led to the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands-Prix.
Both off and on-track, this year’s season has had its share of unexpected events, from Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli leading the drivers’ standings to rumblings of despair in the Red Bull garage.
Four-time world champion and Red Bull star Max Verstappen even said his current unhappiness could possibly even lead him to retire once the current Formula 1 season ends.
A winner of 71 career F1 races, which trails only Lewis Hamilton (105) and Michael Schumacher (91) all time, Verstappen finished eighth at the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday.
The F1 drivers’ champion from 2021 to 2024 for Red Bull relinquished his seat at the top of the sport when McLaren’s Lando Norris won the title last season.
Verstappen, 29, has bemoaned recent technical changes to F1 cars and reiterated his disappointment Sunday, according to the BBC.
On the record as critical of the changes, the Dutch driver was asked if there was a chance he would walk away from his Red Bull contract that runs through the 2028 season.
“That’s what I’m saying,” said Verstappen, who finished sixth in the season- opening race at Australia, did not finish at China and had his worst finish of the season Sunday.
He also conceded that Red Bull is now part of the ‘midfield battle’ after being unable to pass Alpine’s Pierre Gasly in Japan, leaving the squad with plenty of improvements to find ahead of the next round.
The Dutchman has previously spoken of the challenges the team is facing amid the new regulations this year, with Red Bull producing their own power unit for the first time this season.
Verstappen is used to fighting at the front but Red Bull’s early 2026 performance has seen the team fall down the pecking order with the former world champion knocked out in Q2 at the Suzuka Circuit, where he had dominated by taking pole position and victory in each of the previous four years.
In Japan, he was able to return to the top 10 on the opening laps of the race but could not find a way past his former team mate Pierre Gasly, who has enjoyed a great start to the season with Alpine.
Asked whether this was a sign of how much work the Milton Keynes outfit have on their hands, Verstappen replied: “Yeah, I mean it’s not something negative (to be) compared to Alpine because they’re doing a good job.
“It’s just for us, of course it’s not where we’d like to be, but at the moment I feel we’re a bit more in that midfield battle than up at the front.”
Gasly ultimately held on to take the chequered flag just 0.337s ahead of Verstappen as Red Bull failed to find a solution to the balance issues that plagued both of their drivers throughout the weekend.
Meanwhile, Verstappen’s teammate Isack Hadjar admitted that the mood inside the Red Bull camp after Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix was ‘not good’.
The Frenchman endured a frustrating 53-lap race at the Suzuka Circuit that ultimately resulted in a point-less P12 finish.
Hadjar started P8 having out-qualified Verstappen for the second time this season.
But he lost several positions over the opening laps having depleted his battery and spent the first stage of the race becoming frustrated behind Arvid Lindblad’s Racing Bulls machine.
After finding himself down in P13 after the sole Safety Car period, Hadjar only improved one further position.
“I ran out of battery very early on the start/finish straight and started to be overtaken by everyone on every lap (while) trying to recover energy. I was just stuck for a while so it was not very nice in the car.”
Red Bull have only gathered 16 points so far this season – four of which came from Hadjar in the Chinese Grand Prix.
It leaves the squad sixth in the Teams’ Championship.
Hadjar admitted the feeling within Red Bull was far from ideal, and that the gap between the next race in Miami would be crucial to finding more performance.
“It’s not good,” said Hadjar about the mood. “But everyone’s got their heads down to understand what’s going on. Hopefully the next version of the car really makes an effect. That’s it”
The F1 schedule will return May 3 at Miami.
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