Verstappen camp fires back as Red Bull pressure grows

Jos Verstappen has lashed out at Martin Brundle as pressure continues to mount on Red Bull amid ongoing speculation about Max Verstappen’s future.

Veteran commentator Brundle suggested at Silverstone that Verstappen’s management played a central role in dismantling the team’s former leadership structure.

"They wanted to torpedo the management of Red Bull," the former F1 driver said. "They did that very well indeed."

The comments come after the departures of Christian Horner, Adrian Newey, Jonathan Wheatley and Dr Helmut Marko from the team, with paddock speculation now also linking long-time engineering chief Paul Monaghan with an exit after his conspicuous absence from Silverstone.

Jos Verstappen responded beneath an Instagram post featuring Brundle’s remarks. "Another idiot who thinks he knows how it is," he wrote.

The exchange comes at another difficult weekend for Red Bull, with Verstappen describing his RB22 as "too slow" after qualifying and suggesting major changes and a pitlane start may be needed before Sunday’s British GP.

"Ideally, I’d replace everything or overhaul everything," the quadruple world champion said.

"I’m not superstitious, but it feels like I hit a black cat. Today was simply embarrassing and poor.

"If we go into the race like this, then it’s pointless."

Speculation continues to link Verstappen with a sensational move to McLaren, with rumours suggesting it could result in Oscar Piastri heading in the other direction to Red Bull.

Former F1 driver Christijan Albers believes discussions are taking place on both sides. "Those two teams are sniffing around," he told Viaplay.

"As Zak Brown is watching Max, so is Red Bull sniffing at Piastri."

Albers also claims Piastri’s manager, Mark Webber, is no longer a regular presence inside McLaren’s hospitality unit.

"The situation is that he is no longer very welcome in the team and in the motorhome," he said.

Verstappen, however, declined to fuel further speculation about his own future.

"Of course, you can’t say all sorts of things after just one bad qualifying session, because that wouldn’t make sense either.

"But I do hope that some better weekends are coming up, like last week."

However, when asked if he still believed he could win the 2026 title, Verstappen replied: "You shouldn’t ask me about that anymore."

"I am looking forward to the summer break, but it isn’t long enough for me," he added with a wink.