Max Verstappen future decided? David Coulthard makes ‘Red Bull for life’ claim
Max Verstappen competed in his first Nürburgring 24 Hours
Former Red Bull driver David Coulthard has declared with certainty that Max Verstappen will remain a Red Bull driver “for the rest of his career”.
By allowing Verstappen to compete in the Nürburgring 24 Hours, Red Bull demonstrated a level of freedom which it will give Verstappen that no other team would, according to Coulthard. Verstappen will see out his F1 career with Red Bull, Coulthard is now certain.
Max Verstappen declared Red Bull for life by David Coulthard
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Verstappen made his hotly-anticipated Nürburgring 24 Hours debut last week.
Verstappen and Co. looked to be on their way to victory in the #3 Mercedes before a driveshaft issue struck, forcing a multi-hour return to the garage and ending any hopes of victory.
“To go there, this is old-school commitment, and that’s what sets him apart from the others,” Coulthard declared in reference to Verstappen on the Up To Speed podcast.
“The others are technically very good racing drivers. There’s no question about it. I would question whether any other driver on the Formula 1 grid right now would accept the challenge to go and race at the Nürburgring.”
For Formula 1 drivers, opportunities to race in other series are rare.
Fernando Alonso missed the 2017 Monaco Grand Prix to contest the Indy 500, doing so with McLaren, the team which he raced for in F1 also at the time.
More recently, Alonso’s current Aston Martin teammate Lance Stroll made his GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup debut in April.
By contesting the Nürburgring 24 Hours, Verstappen was not taking on any normal circuit. He went racing around the iconic Nordschleife, nicknamed the Green Hell.
At a time where Verstappen’s Formula 1 future appears uncertain, while talk continues to bubble away about a switch to a rival team, Coulthard had suggested Ferrari as the “shoo-in” fit for Verstappen if he moved away from Red Bull.
Now, Coulthard is saying that will never happen.
“Max will not be going anywhere,” Coulthard declared.
“Because there’s no other Formula 1 team that would allow him to be Max.
“McLaren wouldn’t be able to do it, Ferrari wouldn’t be able to do it, Mercedes wouldn’t be able to do it, despite the fact he was driving a Mercedes, just because of the investment that goes into the individual driver.
“But Red Bull do, in fairness and in the spirit of Mr. Mateschitz, the founder of Red Bull.
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“I remember that when I first met him, before signing to drive for the team, I asked him, ‘What do you expect of me?’ And he said, ‘Be yourself.’
“Max is being himself. That’s why we’ll cut the speculation of a couple of weeks ago, right now. Max is staying with Red Bull for the rest of his career.”
Verstappen returns to Formula 1 duties this weekend at the Canadian Grand Prix.
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