Hakkinen admits Max will one day leave Red Bull

Max Verstappen has been with Red Bull since the summer of 2014 and all his great successes in motorsport are linked to the Austrian company. He made his F1 debut with Toro Rosso and has been driving for Red Bull Racing since 2016 and is now a two-time world champion six years later. At the same time, his commitments to the team suggest that he will work with it until the end of 2026.

Mika Hakkinen, also the owner of two championship titles, admits that Verstappen will one day say goodbye to Red Bull and move to one of the rival teams. According to the Finn, personnel changes that could weaken Milton Keynes’ team would force him to make such a decision.

“It’s great that Max is committed to his team, that he has signed a long-term contract. It shows that he has faith in Red Bull Racing, says Häkkinen. – There are good specialists, engineers and designers, but the Formula 1 calendar is getting very long. There are too many races and this requires everyone to give their all.

Many family people work in teams and such private business trips become a burden for them. I want to spend more time with my family, my children. Therefore, there is always a risk that some key specialists will leave the team, after which the efficiency of the car will no longer meet expectations – at such moments the rider thinks about changing the team.

I don’t think Max will play for Red Bull until the end of his career, although this is just my personal opinion. In the past it happened more than once that riders said goodbye to teams they won a lot of championships with, this happened for a variety of reasons – sometimes for money, sometimes they just wanted to team up with someone else.

In general, the trend is that sooner or later something will change.”