Van der Garde: “Verstappen in McLaren could be a concrete option”

2026 a nightmare, at least at the start The start of this season has proved to be nothing short of negative for Max Verstappen, dissatisfied from various points of view: in addition to the disappointing results, with the Dutchman never getting on the podium in the first three races and not going beyond 6th place in Australia, the four-time world champion has heavily criticized the new technical regulations introduced in 2026. A set of factors that pushed the Red Bull driver, after the GP of Japan, not to rule out the possibility of retiring from Formula 1. The McLaren hypothesis: Van der Garde’s thoughts That statement sparked numerous opinions from former drivers, including that of Verstappen’s compatriot Giedo van der Garde. In F1 with Caterham in 2013, the 40-year-old expressed his opinion in FORMULA 1 Magazine, considering what the future of the #3 could be, according to him still in F1 and far from retirement: “Opinions don’t matter. Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren, is simply a business scoundrel who knows exactly what to do. Max’s move to McLaren could be a concrete option. It’s up to Max and his management to carefully evaluate what they want and where they can conclude the deal better. There is no shortage of options, because everyone wants Max. McLaren has the advantage of being able to count on several Red Bull veterans with whom it has already achieved success, such as Rob Marshall and Will Courtenay.” McLaren aims for the top In addition to Marshall and Courtenay, another person who would favor Verstappen’s approach to McLaren would be his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase, who will join the Woking team in 2028: “It seems like a deliberate strategy by McLaren to grab the best talents of the competition, a bit like Bayern Munich does in the Bundesliga – added Van der Garde – feelings don’t matter. Zak Brown has no scruples, and he knows exactly how to achieve his goal. Success is only achieved with the right people in the right place. As a team, you can have the best driver, but if the car doesn’t work, you will still be mid-table or at the bottom.