- Max Verstappen extended his winless run to seven races at the Azerbaijan GP
- The 26-year-old has been incredibly critical of his Red Bull since their slump
- McLaren overtook Red Bull in the Constructor’s Championship last weekend
Former Formula One driver Ralf Schumacher has claimed that Max Verstappen ‘loses a million for every race he doesn’t win’ after his disappointing form continued at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
The three-time reigning world champions is in the midst of slump that appeared unthinkable at the start of the season, as he continued the form that saw him win 19 of 23 races in 2023.
By contrast, this term, Verstappen is without a race win since June, a stretch of seven meetings on the calendar and he has seen his lead in the Driver’s Championship cut to 59 points.
Schumacher, brother of seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, believes that Verstappen’s drought is having a big impact on is wallet and has claimed that the Dutchman is losing out on millions because of it.
‘It is assumed that he loses a million for every race he doesn’t win.’ He told Sky. ‘That is unbelievable. Last year he was so successful and that is a lot of money that he is missing out on, in addition to the fact that things are no longer going well in sporting terms.’
Max Verstappen has been very critical of his Red Bull as the team have endured a major dip
The reigning three-time world champion extended his winless run to seven races in Azerbaijan last weekend
Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher has claimed that Verstappen is missing out on millions due to his failure to claim race wins
Reports of tensions between Verstappen and his Red Bull team have been rife since the start of the season. The Austrian manufacturer also faced unwanted headlines after allegations were made against team principal Christian Horner.
Additionally, the outfit has lost design guru Adrian Newey to Aston Martin over the course of this year.
Verstappen is the highest-paid driver on the grid with an annual salary of £40million on a deal that runs until 2028, although there have been reports of a break clause in the contract.
Red Bulls’ performances on the track in recent weeks have done little to quell speculation linking the 26-year-old with a sensational move away.
Schumacher added: ‘I am of the opinion that not everything is set in stone as far as what will happen to Max Verstappen in the future is concerned. Because I believe he has no patience and will not stay forever.’
Earlier this month, he claimed he could not retain the world championship because his car is a ‘monster’, while – after finishing fifth in Baku – he said the RB20 was a ‘go-kart’.
McLaren’s resurgence has seen them overtake Red Bull at the top of the Constructor’s Championship
Red Bull has sought to improve their prospects at the Singapore GP this weekend by scrapping a major alteration that was expected to be debuted. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri’s McLaren resurgence has piled pressure on Red Bull to make rapid improvements. The Woking-based outfit overtook their rivals in the Constructor’s Championship last weekend.
A special livery change that would have altered the colour and appearance of Verstappen and team-mate Sergio Perez’s vehicles was set to be showcased across two races starting in Singapore.
However, pre-race tests carried out by the team have shown that the paint was adding extra weight that the garage believe would further affect their attempts to regain ground on McLaren.
That has prompted the design modification to be halted with Red Bull no longer proceeding with the change with the existing livery that has been used throughout the year set to continue.
‘Unfortunately, when we came to the testing phase of what some REBL CUSTMS designs could look like in real life on the RB20, we found the paint used to create these bespoke, full car takeover liveries added unforeseen and undue weight to the bodywork of the RB20,’ Red Bull said in a statement via the Express.
Red Bull were set to change their livery ahead of the weekend before tests showed ‘unforeseen’ issues
As I’m sure you can imagine, any additional weight compromises performance and the team are continuing to prioritise making this car as competitive as possible for the remainder of the 2024 season.
‘As a result, it is with a heavy heart that we must let you know the team has made the decision to not run the REBL CUSTMS liveries on the RB20 at the Singapore and United States GPs.’
