Max Verstappen alarms Red Bull after Bahrain race: Helmut Marko admits fear, manager outraged. Max Verstappen’s Future in Doubt: Red Bull on Edge After Bahrain Collapse.

It was already clear during the Sakhir tests that the RB21 was not a championship-worthy car. And it was precisely the Sakhir track that confirmed and reinforced the issues of a car that only the Dutch champion seems partially able to tame. The Bahrain GP was indeed a real nightmare for Red Bull, which now, according to Helmut Marko, is genuinely afraid of Max Verstappen’s decisions regarding his future.

The four-time world champion has never hidden a certain unease about the situation within the Milton Keynes team. From Adrian Newey’s departure to the early sidelining of Liam Lawson, the number 1 has repeatedly made strong statements regarding his continued presence with the team where he was born and raised.

There is no shortage of offers on the table, and 2026 will be a crucial season for the balance of power on the grid. That’s why it’s essential to be prepared and avoid being part of a team forced to play catch-up when the new regulations arrive.

Helmut Marko is also worried
Red Bull knows this well, and Helmut Marko even more so. The senior advisor of the Milton Keynes-based team expressed notable disappointment about what happened in Bahrain.

“We must bring the car back to an acceptable level as soon as possible, and our pit stops back to the standard we used to have. If the car isn’t fast, we can’t afford to make mistakes in the pits. With this level of performance, it’s impossible to win the championship,” Helmut Marko declared at the end of the fourth race of the 2025 Formula 1 season in Bahrain.

The Austrian then spoke about what Max Verstappen’s future could look like. Responding to a question about the fear of seeing the Dutchman leave the team, Red Bull’s senior advisor did not hold back.
“There is a lot of fear,” were his words.

Max Verstappen’s manager appears
According to Ted Kravitz, Verstappen’s manager, Raymond Vermeulen, reportedly stormed into the garage in a fury, harshly confronting Helmut Marko. The entourage of the four-time world champion seems far from satisfied with the situation at Red Bull, and the problems in Bahrain were considered unacceptable.