Jenson Button: Tricky RB21 “proves what a talent” Max Verstappen is

Jenson Button has claimed that the performance Max Verstappen is able to get out of the “difficult” Red Bull RB21 “proves what a talent he is”.

After 12 races of the 2025 season, the four-time champion has accumulated 165 of Red Bull’s 172 championship points. Verstappen revealed balance issues ahead of the British Grand Prix, one of several challenges Red Bull has faced this year.

“For me personally, today wasn’t a great day and it was difficult to find much balance in the car and in the corners,” Verstappen explained in Silverstone. “The wind affects things quite a lot, but that, of course, is not an excuse as you just have to deal with it. It is not easy, but it is the same situation for everyone.

“Every weekend is a bit different and you have to adapt to the changing conditions and scenarios, but our car does seem pretty sensitive to the wind this week.”

Button discussed with F1.com whether Verstappen is still in the championship fight.

“I think it’s really difficult for Max,” the 2009 champion explained. “If Max has one bad race, like he did in Austria, that’s a lot of points for him to make up in a car that is not as good as the McLaren. You’d have to say it’s a two-horse race at the moment, but Max has had it his way for a few years, and what he’s doing with that car is just unbelievable. When you put so many drivers in the same car and they are nowhere near him it proves what a talent he is, and what he’s able to do with a difficult car.”

The performance difficulties have fuelled rumours about the Red Bull driver considering a move to Mercedes. Team chief Toto Wolff confirmed that he was in talks with Verstappen, but admitted that the probability of the talks leading to a contract for 2026 was low. Button argued that “it’s a tricky decision” for the driver with the new wave of regulations coming next year.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Steven Tee / LAT Images via Getty Images

“What’s he going to do next year? I don’t know,” Button continued. “I think it’s interesting that we don’t know what the best option is. I’m sure he doesn’t know either right now. You can kind of see the future a little bit, because you can see what the car’s doing in the wind tunnel, you can see what the power output is, but you don’t know what other teams are doing.

“They might say they’re doing better, but who knows? So, it’s a tricky decision for him and, whatever he chooses, I think it’s going to be an exciting season in 2026 – whatever car he’s in.”