The pressure is on new Red Bull team chief Laurent Mekies to address the rumours surrounding Max Verstappen linking him to a seat at Mercedes, according to former driver turned presenter Jolyon Palmer.
After Christian Horner’s abrupt exit from the Milton Keynes outfit, Palmer argued that the four-time champion’s contract is the most important job to tick off for Mekies. The Dutchman is under contract with the team until the end of 2028, but he has been linked to a Mercedes move following performance issues at the team.
“There are really big things he needs to address immediately, and the driver line-up is obviously one of them,” Palmer explained during the F1 Nation podcast.
“Max Verstappen’s contract, and all the rumours, fall at the same time as Christian is ousted from the team. So I think that’s one thing that Laurent, with the hierarchy of Red Bull, needs to try and knuckle down. Can they keep their star driver?
“Because Max, at the moment, seems to be the glue that’s just holding this whole team together. Right now, if you take out Max from Red Bull, they’ve lost all the old management.”
The reason for Horner’s dismissal from his role as team principal and CEO is unknown, although the departures of key personnel such as Adrian Newey and Jonathan Wheatley are thought to have contributed to the decision.
“Helmut Marko is still there in an advisory capacity, but a lot of the race team have gone from senior positions, yet Max is still able to deliver pole position at Silverstone. He’s still able to direct the team,” Palmer continued.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
“Gianpiero [Lambiase] is obviously now going to be a central figure as well, who’s got a great relationship with Max.
“But the other driver is a big question mark as well, and that’s where Laurent has got some great experience working with Yuki Tsunoda before, and others, to try and sort out what’s going on there.
“But the whole dynamic of the drivers is probably his first thing to try and get on top of.”
Verstappen has scored 165 of the team’s 172 points so far this season.
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