Max Verstappen has responded to the criticism of Red Bull’s ownership of two teams in Formula 1 with a jaded perspective, dismissing the concerns as “typical” F1 tactics.
The simmering tension between Red Bull Racing and its Formula 1 competitors flared up again during the Bahrain tests.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown publicly questioned the level of collaboration between the Milton Keynes-based outfit and its sister team, VCARB (formerly AlphaTauri), particularly concerning political alliances and staff movement.
But Verstappen sees the accusations as a play for advantage, aimed at unsettling rival teams and creating narratives that could potentially distract them.
“That is a constant tactic in F1, one that is always used,” he said. “That does not only apply to this story, but that is always the case and is typical for F1. That is one hundred percent typical F1.”
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Verstappen further emphasizes the normalcy of personnel movement within F1. Teams constantly seek to improve their performance, and poaching talent from competitors is a common strategy.
“Yes, you always try to get your own advantage out of something, and you try to pull people away from other teams,” he said.
“That is very normal in F1. You can always find something and always make something out of it.”
Regarding rumors about Ferrari’s efforts to poach key Red Bull personnel, Verstappen said: “It happens all the time, especially if you are doing well, of course.
“We have our own engine programme by now for 2026, and we also get people from other teams for that. That is and always remains a thing in F1.
“It's also nothing that I think about like: 'Oh shit, what is happening here?'. No, it's actually quite normal in the world of F1.”
Queried on the ongoing investigation surrounding Red Bull team boss Christian Horner, Verstappen emphasized that the team remains laser-focused on their on-track performance.
“I mean, in terms of talking about that, it's not that suddenly sitting here I can speak about things,” he said. “So it's better that I just focus on my own performance, because that's already a day job.
“But I guess of course for everyone it's nice when things are resolved, but that's the only thing that I can say about that.
“Everyone who is here, they're all focussing on the performance of the car, as they should. Everyone knows their role, and everyone is very focussed on trying to make the whole package faster.”
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