Max Verstappen Regrets Red Bull F1 Exits Amid Staff Exodus

Key Points

• Max Verstappen has admitted he “wishes” some of his former Red Bull colleagues had remained with the team
• The four-time world champion feels media narratives around the staff departures have been “dramatic” and inaccurate
• Legendary designer Adrian Newey left Red Bull to join Aston Martin
• Former team principal Christian Horner was dismissed from his role last July
• Race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase remains at Red Bull for now but has agreed to depart for McLaren in a senior role from 2028
• Several mechanics and engineers from Verstappen’s side of the garage have also left the team
• Verstappen compared the situation to player and staff movement seen commonly in football and other sports
• He says he has taken on a leadership role at Red Bull “just by being” himself after a decade with the team
• Verstappen credits his experience and straightforward communication style for the relationships he has built at the team
• The Dutchman won four consecutive drivers’ championships with Red Bull between 2021 and 2024

Milton Keynes (Britain Today News) July 30, 2026 – Max Verstappen has admitted he “wishes” many of his departed former Red Bull colleagues would have stayed with the team, as the four-time Formula 1 world champion addressed the wave of high-profile exits that has reshaped the Milton Keynes-based outfit in recent seasons. The Dutchman won four titles in a row between 2021 and 2024, but many of those with whom he shared that remarkable run of success have since moved on to pastures new, prompting fresh questions about the stability of the team around him.

Who Has Left Red Bull Since Verstappen’s Title-Winning Run?

The list of departures from Verstappen’s inner circle at Red Bull has grown steadily since his championship-winning years. That includes legendary designer Adrian Newey, now working with Aston Martin, his former team boss Christian Horner who was axed last July, and his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase, who is still working at Red Bull for now but has agreed to leave for McLaren, where he will begin a more senior role in 2028.

Several mechanics and engineers who worked specifically in Verstappen’s side of the garage have also moved on, leading many to suggest the four-time world champion may become unsettled because of a lack of familiarity around him on the pit wall and in the garage.

Does Verstappen Feel Unsettled by the Departures?

While Verstappen admits he would have preferred some people stayed, he feels the narrative around the situation’s effect on him has been inaccurate and overstated by observers and pundits looking in from outside the team.

“People always like to focus on the negative; when people are leaving, they always make it out as if it’s something very dramatic,”

he told RacingNews365.

“Of course, sometimes you’re like, ‘I wish certain people would have stayed,’ but that’s life, and that’s also what you see in other sports; sometimes people move on, they change. It’s part of the culture and just how sports work in a way.”

Why Does Verstappen Compare F1 Staff Moves to Football Transfers?

Verstappen drew a direct comparison between the movement of key personnel in Formula 1 and the transfer culture seen in professional football, suggesting that talented individuals will always attract interest from rival organisations regardless of the sport in question.

“It’s hard always to keep a very successful group together. Those are always people that other teams are also trying to find, get the talent, and it’s the same in football: when you see a great player, but then there’s another club that wants the player, they will do everything they can to get the player, or in a management structure,”

he explained.

Is the Red Bull Exodus Unique to Verstappen’s Team?

The reigning multiple champion was firm in his belief that Red Bull’s experience is not an isolated case within the sport, arguing that turnover of staff and personnel is a natural and recurring feature of competitive racing environments.

“So it’s not uncommon. I feel like sometimes people have been a bit dramatic, a little bit too dramatic on that, that it only happens to us. People are leaving, they’re coming and going all the time. That’s just part of the sport in a way,”

Verstappen said.

What Role Does Adrian Newey’s Departure Play in the Narrative?

Newey’s exit from Red Bull to Aston Martin has been widely regarded as one of the most significant personnel changes in the paddock in recent years, given his reputation as one of the sport’s most successful car designers. His departure has fuelled much of the speculation surrounding the long-term technical direction of Red Bull’s car development.

How Significant Was Christian Horner’s Exit From Red Bull?

Horner’s dismissal last July marked the end of an era for Red Bull, having overseen the team throughout Verstappen’s rise to the top of the sport and its four consecutive drivers’ championships between 2021 and 2024. His removal from the role of team principal was seen by many as a pivotal moment in the team’s recent history.

What Does Gianpiero Lambiase’s Future Move Mean for Verstappen?

Lambiase’s position is perhaps the most closely watched of all, given his direct working relationship with Verstappen on the timing stand throughout his championship years. Although Lambiase remains at Red Bull for the time being, his agreed move to McLaren for a senior role beginning in 2028 has already prompted discussion about who might take his place alongside Verstappen in the cockpit-to-pit-wall relationship that has been central to his success.

How Has Verstappen Established Himself as a Leader at Red Bull?

After 10 years driving for the team, Verstappen is among the longer-serving members at Red Bull and says he acts as a leader there “just by being myself.” He added:

“What I’ve done over all the years, I think, is build up a really good relationship with a lot of people, and just saying it how it is as well.”

What Communication Style Does Verstappen Credit for His Relationships?

Verstappen was clear that his straightforward manner of communication, both with the team and in return from the team towards him, has been central to the relationships he has built during his decade at Red Bull.

“Being very straightforward, because that’s also how I like to operate: them to me, and me back to the team. So, that’s how we try to do it,”

he said.
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Does Experience Change How Verstappen Views Staff Changes?

Verstappen suggested that maturity and experience have shaped his perspective on the changing personnel around him, allowing him to view the departures with greater perspective than earlier in his career.

“I think when you get older, you also understand it a little bit more, you get a bit more experience in life. You grow up a bit more with… you experience many more things with the people in the team as well. So it’s been, honestly, very, very natural,”

Verstappen said.

What Does This Mean for Red Bull’s Future Structure?

With Newey already departed, Horner removed from his post, and Lambiase’s exit scheduled for 2028, Red Bull faces a considerable rebuilding process around its star driver in the coming seasons. How the team manages this transition, while continuing to compete at the front of the grid, will likely shape much of the discussion around Red Bull heading into the coming campaigns. Verstappen, for his part, has made clear that while he holds no illusions about wishing certain individuals had remained, he does not view the changes as a sign of instability specific to his own team, but rather as an inevitable consequence of success attracting outside interest across the sport.

The Dutchman’s comments suggest a driver who remains focused on continuity of culture and relationships rather than fixating on any single departure, even as the list of familiar faces around him continues to change. With a decade of experience now behind him at Red Bull, Verstappen appears to view his own role increasingly as a stabilising influence within the team, rather than someone destabilised by the changes occurring around him.