F1: Can Max Verstappen go to Alpine?

In the midst of Red Bull’s bad moment and a possible output clause that could run the tetracampeón, Ralf Schumacher was encouraged to put the French team as a possible destination.

Red Bull’s walk is light years of being that of that dominant team of 2023 and 2024 start. In the middle of last season, the RB20 lost performance and the advantage achieved in the ten initial appointments and pure talent, Max Verstappen sealed its fourth title in a row. The situation is more complicated in 2025 and, after the BARÉIN GP in the barely sixth, the Dutch warned: “At this time I am not fighting for the title, I am only competing.” The team armed a crisis committee immediately and on the horizon, in addition to the lack of competitiveness of the RB21, it is added a clause that the tetracampeón would have in its contract (expires in 2028) that would allow him to execute his departure at the end of this year if he is not in the first three when he reached the cut of the boreal summer holidays. In the middle of all this, Ralf Schumacher, Expileot of the category and becoming a commentator, does not doubt the departure of Verstappen if the team does not turn the situation.

“I am quite sure that, if the car update does not take effect on Icola and the new engine does not work so well, Max Verstappen will definitely leave the team,” said Michael’s brother, Also pointing to the promoter that Red Bull, the technical and financial collaboration with Ford, is preparing for 2026 when the new regulations begin.

Ralf went further and even encouraged to give a possible destination for Verstappen and surprised: “The team we always forget, but that certainly influences all this … Alpine!” He said in the German Backstage Boxengasse podcast. He added: “Flavio Briatore has bought Mercedes engines for his team next year and, meanwhile, look what Pierre Gasly did last weekend”in reference to the seventh place that French achieved in the BARÉIN GP. “The car cannot be so bad. If we add 30 extra horses of the Mercedes engine … I don’t want to leave that team out of consideration either.”

The rumors that point to an exit from Verssappen of Red Bull place as possible destination to Aston Martin and Mercedes. The English team would have made a juicy offer and has a very seductive combo: the Honda and Adrian Newey engine as a brain behind the car design. As for the Germans, in the last hours the talks would have started to renew the George Russell contract that expires at the end of the year (it would be for 30 million annually).

In Alpine, the team that Ralf Schumacher put on the tapete, Pierre Gasly renewed his contract in June last year and it was only reported that it was “beyond 2025”. Meanwhile, Jack Doohan, his partner, is unknown the duration of the link and his position until the end of the year would be subject to complying with a performance clause that, according to European media, would be put into play in the cut by holidays. Behind is Franco Colapinto, Piloto reserves of the squad, who arrived with the intention of taking a position as headline.