Max Verstappen’s nightmare Bahrain Grand Prix involved him having to fight back from last place and make a last-lap overtake on an ex-teammate.

Red Bull are in grave danger. The RB21 is not up to standard and is not fast enough to help their superstar deliver a fifth consecutive drivers’ championship.

Verstappen finished a lowly sixth at the Bahrain Grand Prix and did well to manage such a good finish. His car wasn’t capable of anymore.

With the 2026 F1 regulations nearing, he may want to think twice about his future before committing to his team in the long run.

Verstappen has been linked with Mercedes and could join their project if he feels he has a better chance of success with them.

Some in the F1 paddock think Verstappen’s transfer is already done. They believe that he has already penned a deal with Aston Martin.

Verstappen can’t solve Red Bull’s ‘big crisis’ and it’s now up to the team to bring effective upgrades to convince him to stay.

If not, he may have summer clauses which could allow him to leave before the conclusion of his deal in 2028 or negotiate a sooner exit if he isn’t high enough in the standings.

Sky Sports F1’s Ted Kravitz suggested that Verstappen was most annoyed about the operational side of the team, rather than their lack of pace in Bahrain.

“I think what the Verstappens were annoyed about, what Raymond Vermeulen was annoyed about, and Max said this as well,” he said.

“Was that when everything isn’t so great on the car, at least we need to have good pit stops. Good operational things on.”

Although there are rumours that Mercedes may burst out of the blocks in 2026 with a very competitive engine, much like they did in 2014, there’s no guarantee they will be the quickest team.

Adrian Newey’s departure from Red Bull was a key storyline last year. Where he ended up is perhaps even more significant now.

Verstappen could accept a £206m offer to link up with Newey again and join Aston Martin, who are set to have their power units supplied by Honda from next year.

They’re incredibly slow currently, but with the recent revelation that their design genius is working exclusively on their 2026 project, there should be more confidence in their program.

There isn’t a single team on the grid that wouldn’t like to have Verstappen. The choice is pretty much his regarding where he wants to go and whether he wants to move at all.

Tensions are boiling inside the Red Bull Racing garage, and Max Verstappen is no longer hiding his frustration. Following a disappointing Bahrain Grand Prix — not just in terms of performance but shocking pit lane inefficiency — the three-time world champion has reportedly demanded sweeping changes to the team’s pit crew.

Sources close to the situation say Verstappen was furious after a series of sluggish pit stops cost him valuable seconds during the race, fueling doubts about Red Bull’s ability to maintain operational excellence amid off-track turmoil. And this time, it wasn’t just a heated radio message — it was a direct, behind-closed-doors confrontation.

“Max wasn’t just annoyed — he was livid,” a team insider revealed. “He stormed into the debrief and said, ‘If you can’t do your job right, you shouldn’t be doing it at all.’ He made it very clear: the pit crew either shapes up or gets replaced.”

It wasn’t an emotional outburst from a frustrated driver — it was a calculated demand from a man considering his future at the team.

Reports indicate that Verstappen believes Red Bull’s recent string of pit lane errors is a symptom of deeper instability inside the organization, much of it stemming from internal controversies surrounding team principal Christian Horner. And now, Verstappen — along with his close advisor Raymond Vermeulen — wants to see heads roll.

“Max feels like he’s holding up his end of the bargain,” one F1 paddock source explained. “He delivers results, dominates qualifying, manages the tires — but when he pulls into the pits and loses two seconds for no reason, that’s unacceptable at this level.”

And then came Christian Horner’s response.

In a closed-door meeting held at the Red Bull hospitality suite late Sunday night in Bahrain, Horner addressed the team after hearing Verstappen’s demands. But rather than push back or throw anyone under the bus, Horner reportedly stood in silence for several seconds before calmly saying, “We win and lose as a team.”

The atmosphere, according to one staff member present, was chilling.

“No one said a word after that,” the staffer recounted. “Horner didn’t defend the crew, but he didn’t agree with Max either. It was like he dropped a grenade in the room, then walked out.”

It’s unclear whether any personnel changes will follow immediately, but one thing is certain — Verstappen is not in a patient mood. With rumors swirling about potential summer exit clauses in his contract, and Mercedes and Aston Martin reportedly monitoring the situation closely, Red Bull’s internal cohesion is under the microscope like never before.

Sky Sports F1’s Ted Kravitz also weighed in, noting, “What seemed to annoy Max the most wasn’t the car’s lack of pace — it was the lack of operational precision. He expects excellence, and right now, Red Bull isn’t delivering that in the pit lane.”

And for a driver like Verstappen, who’s built his career on ruthless efficiency and blistering speed, pit stop errors are more than just an inconvenience — they’re a betrayal of the championship mindset he demands from everyone around him.

With tensions rising, eyes now turn to Suzuka, where Red Bull’s response — and Horner’s next move — could define the future of their relationship with Verstappen.

If Verstappen doesn’t see immediate improvement in pit stop execution, the whispers around the paddock may turn into full-blown roars: Is the Verstappen-Red Bull dynasty on the verge of collapse?