Verstappen’s stance is clear. The 27-year-old is in F1 to fight for World Championships, rather than podiums or top-five finishes. Unlike Charles Leclerc at Ferrari and George Russell at Mercedes, he does not want to lead a long-term rebuild project - he wants immediate success.

Former Formula 1 driver Johnny Herbert has advised Aston Martin to go ‘all out’ for Max Verstappen with backing from Saudi Arabia. Verstappen’s future with Red Bull is up in the air after a difficult start to the year, despite the two parties having a valid long-term deal until the end of the 2028 season.

Johnny Herbert believes Max Verstappen was “unprofessional and disrespectful” on the Saudi Arabian GP podium after finishing second to Oscar Piastri on Sunday. Former F1 race winner Herbert added that Verstappen should have been given a 10-second penalty for the incident at turn one on lap one with Piastri, instead of a five-second penalty.