{"id":34655,"date":"2025-07-31T09:56:09","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T09:56:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/34655\/"},"modified":"2025-07-31T09:56:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T09:56:09","slug":"ralf-schumacher-pinpoints-deciding-factor-that-convinced-max-verstappen-to-choose-red-bull-over-mercedes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/34655\/","title":{"rendered":"Ralf Schumacher pinpoints \u2018deciding factor\u2019 that convinced Max Verstappen to choose Red Bull over Mercedes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Four-time world champion Max Verstappen appears to have settled for another season at Red Bull Racing.<\/p>\n

The 2026 Formula 1 season<\/a> is gearing up to be one of the most intriguing campaigns in the sport\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

Design genius Adrian Newey believes every team will struggle with the new regulations<\/a>, as both the aerodynamic and engine rules are changing.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a huge undertaking, but it left many people questioning whether Max Verstappen<\/a> would stand by Red Bull<\/a> going into the sport\u2019s next era.<\/p>\n

TEAMDRIVER 1DRIVER 2AlpinePierre GaslyN\/AAston MartinFernando AlonsoLance StrollAudiGabriel BortoletoNico HulkenbergCadillacN\/AN\/AFerrariCharles LeclercLewis HamiltonHaasEsteban OconOliver BearmanMcLarenLando NorrisOscar PiastriMercedesN\/AN\/ARacing BullsN\/AN\/ARed Bull RacingMax VerstappenN\/AWilliamsAlex AlbonCarlos Sainz2026 confirmed F1 drivers<\/p>\n

Red Bull have lost the likes of Newey, Rob Marshall and Jonathan Wheatley, and this season, the Dutchman\u2019s hopes of winning a fifth consecutive drivers\u2019 championship<\/a> are dwindling.<\/p>\n

There are question marks over the work Pierre Wache is doing<\/a> in Newey\u2019s absence, and whether, after Christian Horner\u2019s sacking<\/a>, the team are in a strong enough position to build a championship-winning car in 2026.<\/p>\n

Mercedes have been linked with Verstappen<\/a> because many people in the paddock believe they might have the strongest power unit next season, and Toto Wolff has always been an admirer of the Dutchman.<\/p>\n

However, Ralf Schumacher<\/a> has now explained why he believes the 27-year-old has stuck by the team that have delivered him so much success throughout his career.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Red Bull driver Max Verstappen\u2019s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend<\/a><\/p>\n

\"F1Photo by Jakub Porzycki\/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesRalf Schumacher praises Laurent Mekies and predicts Max Verstappen to stay at Red Bull<\/p>\n

Schumacher was asked on the Backstage Boxengasse Podcast<\/a> about new team principal Laurent Mekies\u2019<\/a> first race in charge of Red Bull and said: \u201cI think Mekies did a great job this weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cA completely different approach, and I really had that impression, and that\u2019s why I believe that Max Verstappen will stay.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithin the last few days, there has been a real jolt through the team, and Mekies is someone who lifts his drivers.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven Tsunoda was happy that he was here now. I also thought you could see that Tsunoda was doing a bit better over the weekend.<\/p>\n

Friday 1st August to Sunday 3rd August
\n Friday 1st August 11:30 1st Practice Friday 1st August 15:00 2nd Practice Saturday 2nd August 10:30 3rd Practice Saturday 2nd August 14:00 1st Qualifying Saturday 2nd August 14:25 2nd Qualifying Saturday 2nd August 14:48 3rd Qualifying Sunday 3rd August 13:00 Race <\/p>\n

\u201cSo, that can make a difference, and accordingly, yes, that is a good start.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, of course, we have to wait and see. But, I think it\u2019s a bit like in football, where sometimes the coach doesn\u2019t have the team behind him and vice versa and then a breath of fresh air comes along.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll just have to wait and see, but I think Mekies will do a great job.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ MORE: All you need to know about Red Bull Racing from engine to Ford links<\/a><\/p>\n

Ralf Schumacher says Red Bull\u2019s work behind the scenes was the \u2018deciding factor\u2019 in Max Verstappen staying<\/p>\n

Schumacher then went on to talk about Verstappen\u2019s contract situation and continued: \u201cI think that the decision was made difficult, or rather it could have been difficult, because on the one hand, his heart is in Red Bull, with all the successes, all the years together and his gratitude towards Red Bull.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut on the other hand, you are afraid of what will happen next, and I think that was the deciding factor in changing direction again, as they were trying to turn everything upside down and review it.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I think that impressed Max, and so I think it\u2019s over now.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, it\u2019s quite good for both sides. For Toto, he can keep the pressure on and maybe save some money.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd for the other side, it\u2019s just the case that he can keep the pressure up and maybe negotiate an additional payment for technical changes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Position Constructors’ Standings PointsPts 1 516 2 248 3 220 4 192 5 70 6 43 7 41 8 36 9 35 10 20 <\/p>\n

It\u2019s believed that Verstappen will still have a get-out clause in his contract next season that\u2019s even more likely to activate.<\/p>\n

The Race<\/a> believes that if Verstappen is outside of the top two in the drivers\u2019 championship by the summer break next year, he would be free to leave.<\/p>\n

If a team, such as Mercedes or Aston Martin, nail the upcoming regulation set, then it\u2019s extremely likely that Verstappen will have an easy way out.<\/p>\n

The pressure now falls on Mekies\u2019 shoulders to deliver a race-winning car in 2026 after navigating his first potential crisis in charge of Red Bull.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Four-time world champion Max Verstappen appears to have settled for another season at Red Bull Racing. The 2026…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":34656,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[64,63,1627,825,945,806,805,803,804,30966,946,85],"class_list":["post-34655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-motosport","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-formula-1-driver-market","tag-max-verstappen","tag-mercedes","tag-motor","tag-motor-sports","tag-motosport","tag-motosports","tag-ralf-schumacher","tag-red-bull-racing","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34655"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34655\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}