Red Bull’s Formula 1 dominance was at its peak during the late 2000s into the early 2010s, and also during most of the ground effect era. Key individuals such as Christian Horner and Helmut Marko were there for it all, while several more figures joined throughout the team's terms of success.
Issues and conflicts started to occur at Red Bull in 2023, which also marked the start of a growing list of departing individuals who were vital to the team’s success. Things have gotten to the point where Red Bull may fall mightily over the next few seasons.
Rob Marshall was the first departure, as he left his position as chief engineering officer in 2023 in favor of McLaren. Both Adrian Newey and Jonathan Wheatley left their positions in 2024, with Helmut Marko and Christian Horner both out in 2025. Finally, Gianpiero Lambiase is set to leave Red Bull at the end of 2027, despite his incredibly successful partnership with Max Verstappen.
The Dutch driver is the final domino
Verstappen’s success over the past several years has already put him into the conversation as one of the greatest F1 drivers of all-time. But the Dutchman has always maintained that he does not want to chase world championships and would be willing to leave F1 early to pursue other racing series.
New regulations implemented this season have only made things more difficult for both drivers and teams, resulting in Verstappen speaking out on the many issues and adding to rumors that the four-time world champion could conclude his F1 career as early as the end of this season.
His departure would be the last of all key members crucial to Red Bull’s success over the years. Verstappen is someone who can extract a level of performance out of the Red Bull that no other driver on the grid can, and if the 28-year-old were to depart, Red Bull could fall into the midfield for the foreseeable future.
Verstappen’s future should be monitored carefully over the next several months, as it is becoming increasingly certain that he will either finish his F1 career or move to another team after 2026. F1 could be left with only three teams fighting at the front moving forward.
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