Max Verstappen’s future at Red Bull could be under scrutiny after he struggled throughout the Austrian Grand Prix.

Red Bull arrived at their home race having won it in 2024, but Verstappen was nowhere near the pace that he set last year in the RB21.

The Dutchman struggled to put a lap together in qualifying and found himself P7 after a yellow flag for Pierre Gasly spoiled his final run at the end of qualifying.

The race would last three corners before Verstappen was taken out by Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who got his braking wrong heading up the hill and swiped the side of the Red Bull.

It was one of the worst weekends for Verstappen and ended a 31-point streak for the Dutchman, and could lead to one reason why he might leave Red Bull, according to journalist Erik van Haren when speaking on the Telesport YouTube channel.

Photo by Guenther Iby/SEPA.Media /Getty Images

Max Verstappen could leave Red Bull because of lack of progress with updates

Rumours over the Austrian GP weekend emerged, with Verstappen being linked to a potential drive with Mercedes, and Van Haren believes the Dutchman could make a decision based on one reason alone.

“It’s very simple. You can point to mitigating circumstances, but I think that’s fine, the speed wasn’t there. Red Bull was the only team that was slower in the qualifying than the year before, and Verstappen was over half a second slower than his pole time last year,” said Van Haren.

“Of course he would normally have put in a faster lap but it does say something and it is now the case that we have been seeing the same story from Red Bull for months.

“We’re not seeing the same progress as other teams and that’s when new parts come with upgrades and there is no progress. That’s why it’s not so strange that Verstappen’s future story continues to play out.”

Red Bull rules out 2025 title after Max Verstappen DNF

Red Bull have now ruled out a 2025 title for Verstappen after he dropped 52 points behind leader Oscar Piastri.

It is the second title that Red Bull have ruled too difficult to achieve, after writing off their chances in the Constructors’ Championship.

Yuki Tsunoda failed to score points for the team in Austria, having struggled out on track in the RB21 and picking up a 10-second time penalty for an incident with Franco Colapinto.

The only saving grace for Verstappen is that he now has three penalty points on his superlicence wiped, taking him back to 8 points for the next event in Silverstone rather than on the brink of a race ban with 11 points.