Max Verstappen's career at Red Bull has remained highly debated throughout the years. Despite his long-term loyalty to the squad, many believe that he will leave the team if things get too ugly.
Now, with the 2026 season just starting, F1 pundit and Sky Sports commentator David Croft has predicted that Verstappen could leave Milton Keynes, even before the 2026 season ends.
Previously, Max Verstappen was linked to a move to Mercedes amid Red Bull's tumultuous state. Though the rumors seemed to be true, the Dutchman reaffirmed his loyalty to Milton Keynes. Moreover, the Dutchman is looking forward to the 2026 season and battling on the track under the new regulations.
Red Bull's start to the 2026 season has remained decent, with no major troubles so far. The team is developing its own in-house power units in collaboration with Ford. As such, the engine has been running quite well, and Max Verstappen himself is delighted at the positive indicators so far. Still, David Croft reckons that the 28-year-old will exit the team for some unforeseeable reason.
David Croft accepted that his take might not be true and might not be based on facts. He noted that his bold prediction for the 2026 season was that by the end of 2026, Max Verstappen would not be a Red Bull driver. Croft accepted that he had no idea what the 28-year-old planned in terms of the next team, but this was his bold take on the matter.
Now this might not come true, and it might not have any basis in fact whatsoever, and it is worth remembering that in context, but here is my bold prediction for 2026…that by the time we come to the end of 2026, Max Verstappen won't be a Red Bull driver! Where he's going, I have no idea, but that's my bold prediction.
David Croft said viaRed Bull has hit the ground running pretty well. With the Australian GP right around the corner, the FP1 and FP2 sessions went relatively well for Max Verstappen. However, Verstappen lost control of the car and went into the gravel in the final stages of FP2. This caused damage to his car, and now the team is scrambling to get the setup right for the season opener in Australia.
Max Verstappen acknowledged that the team still had some work to do to get the perfect setup for the Australian GP. He accepted that he struggled with grip and ultimately went into the gravel, as the day wasn't full of clean running. Verstappen highlighted that there is still a lot of work to do before hoping to start the race on the best possible note.
We are working on getting the setup right with the car and were struggling a bit with grip, and also went into the gravel. We didn't have a full day of clean running, but, pace-wise, we are where I expected us to be. There is still a lot of work to do, and we will analyse what worked and what we can improve on overnight, and that is the reality at the moment.
Max Verstappen said, as reported by RacingNews365.The 2026 season has officially begun, and many exciting situations have already come up. Max Verstappen is looking promising to start the season on the right note. However, he will surely have to manage expectations over the year and not expect to dominate from the get-go. It will be interesting to see how the season pans out, with Verstappen vying for his fifth driver's title this year.
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