The head of the energy brand launches an order: Verstappen will die here (of old age, in the car)
Ah, the 2025 season of Formula 1. A wonderful year not only for the spectacle on the asphalt, but, and this is what is truly important, for the flourishing business of unfounded rumor. The jewel in the crown was, without a doubt, the supposed goodbye of Max Verstappen from Red Bull. Everyone was talking about it, except, curiously, the interested party himself, who seemed more focused on, I don’t know, driving. In the end, as usually happens with announced apocalypses, nothing happened. The Dutchman has a contract with the Austrian team until 2028, but, of course, what is a simple piece of paper signed in front of the gossip machinery? Luckily, the team has decided to take action on the matter and prevent the four-time champion from saying goodbye. Imagine the audacity: wanting a pilot to fulfill his contract. Revolutionary!
During that epic period of media uncertainty,’ the pilot didn’t want to talk about his future. A position as reasonable as it is unusual in the F1 circus, where even a sneeze is interpreted as a Morse code for a secret negotiation. Until one day, surely overwhelmed by the pressure of having to make headlines, he confirmed what his contract already said: that he was staying with Milton Keynes‘s team. An anticlimactic ending to a soap opera that promised tears and betrayal.
Mintzlaff, the man who is not afraid of clauses (or saying it)
To make things clearer than the halo of a new tire, the big boss has spoken. Oliver Mintzlaff, CEO of Red Bull, has sat down with the newspaper De Telegraaf to drop pearls of corporate wisdom. And its main message is a masterpiece of forced tranquility: it has no worries about any performance clause. “The important thing is to say that I am not afraid of any performance clause in your contract,” he declared, in a phrase that, inadvertently, confirms that someone, somewhere, continues to ask about them. “It’s clear that Max always wants to win and have the best car possible, but so do we. As long as Max feels that we are working towards that and doing everything we can, I think he will remain loyal. He also sees how much we invest in our own engine.” In other words, the secret formula is: give him a good car. Has anyone taken note of other teams?
The CEO of the conglomerate was so forceful and confident when talking about the future of the Dutch that it almost seems like he has a crystal ball, or a lifetime contract hidden in a drawer. He made it clear that, most likely, the pilot will close his cycle with them. That is, Verstappen will retire drinking from that blue and silver can, in what would be the definitive act of branding: you are born, you run, you win, you retire, all under the same energy drink brand. Poetic.
Loyalty, engines and a new race number
But the crown jewel came with a dose of sublime corporate realism: “Let’s not forget that we are an energy drink brand and that this is a unique step.” Wow, for a moment we thought we were a philanthropic foundation dedicated to the art of aerodynamics. Thanks for the reminder, Oliver. “I feel there is enormous appreciation and loyalty from both sides. I have no doubt that Max Verstappen will finish his career at Red Bull.” He says it with the same faith with which one affirms that the sun will rise tomorrow, but in the world of motor sport, where loyalties last as long as a sponsorship agreement, it sounds almost like a declaration of eternal love.
And, to finish off the informative task, we learned a crucial detail. After failing to win a fifth world title (what a failure, he only has four), Mad Max has decided to change his number. He abandons the 1 (which only champions use, unimportant nonsense) and in the 2026 season he will race with the 3. A move that, without a doubt, is the definitive answer to all his performance problems. Because if the history of sport has shown anything, it is that the secret of success is in numerology, not in engine power. Could this be the change he needed to return to the top? Time, and especially the Red Bull engineers, will tell.
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