Red Bull revolution: if Verstappen skips, an ‘internal solution’ will be thought of. Lawson favorite

The whole thing starts again – Max Like every season since 2024, that time of year has arrived when Max Verstappen’s future is discussed. The four-time Dutch world champion has a contract that binds him to Red Bull until the end of the 2028 season, but he is the first to often question his future not only in the team but in F1 in general, in particular after the introduction of the new technical regulations which immediately saw him as extremely critical. Mercedes, McLaren (even more so after the announcement of the future hiring of Gianpiero Lambiase), Ferrari or farewell to the Circus to concentrate on endurance races: all these seem possible options for the continuation of Verstappen’s career. Of course, the Dutch superstar is very close to the Red Bull group, which also guarantees him a freedom and centrality that would be difficult for Max to find elsewhere. In Red Bull, however, they are starting to seriously contemplate the possibility of losing the goose that lays the golden eggs. Ownership pushes for ‘internal solution’ But who could replace Verstappen in Milton Keynes? There are two scenarios: either a market coup with an effect that leads to a ‘big’ from another team taking over the entire Red Bull or the path of an ‘internal solution’. According to an article published by the New Zealand Herald, team principal Laurent Mekies would be subjected to strong pressure from shareholders to choose this second path. In fact, the history of Red Bull is made up of talents bred at home – just think of the parables of Vettel, Ricciardo and Verstappen himself to name the most well-known – and having even two teams available on the grid, going after talents who grew up elsewhere would be seen as a disavowal of company policy. Lawson favorite Keeping this parameter in mind, the favorite to replace Verstappen would paradoxically be the New Zealander Liam Lawson, that is, the driver who was relegated to Racing Bulls after having played just two races in the 2025 season with Red Bull precisely because he was deemed not capable of supporting the then reigning world champion. Lawson’s would actually be an almost obligatory choice, considering Tsunoda’s recent failure – demoted to reserve driver – and the very young age of Arvid Lindblad who could be left to grow in Racing Bulls for another season. Obviously a lot would also depend on how the current season develops: for now Lawson has shown good consistency of results and is only two points behind Verstappen in the standings. It is clear, however, that if the New Zealander’s performances drop significantly over the course of the year or Lindblad achieves extraordinary results, this hierarchy could be overturned.