SEPTEMBER 17, 2025

Verstappen tipped to struggle at Baku GP

Ralf Schumacher doubts Max Verstappen can recover to fight for the 2025 world championship, despite his pole and victory at Monza.

Yes, he told Formel1.de when asked if the Dutchman is still out of the running.

Looking ahead to this weekend's race in Baku, Schumacher said: "He could put a smaller wing on the Red Bull there again. But Azerbaijan, I'm sorry to say, has never really been his circuit. Sergio Perez was often stronger than him there.

I think it'll be a difficult weekend for him.

The 50-year-old German does, however, see promise in Red Bull's post-Christian Horner direction under new team principal Laurent Mekies.

Christian Horner was someone who loved motorsport and did a great job, Schumacher told Sky Deutschland. But he's more of a manager. And I think Horner doesn't grasp these connections as quickly as a pure engineer.

By contrast, he says Mekies is technically strong and better suited to lead in today's F1.

He's a great talent, especially when it comes to bringing people together, said Schumacher. "He doesn't think he's that important - he just wants things to work.

It reminds me a bit of Fred Vasseur, who said 'I don't want to be at Ferrari, I want to win with Ferrari.' That's exactly Mekies' attitude. He loves it, and now, of course, he has a great opportunity.

Schumacher also thinks it's vital that Mekies and Verstappen can connect on an engineering level.

When something is presented to him, he can immediately say, 'Looks good, but we still need to go in this or that direction.' And he can go around it five times, maybe even eight times, depending on the structure, he said.

Speaking separately to T-Online, Schumacher added that Red Bull's internal turmoil earlier in the year means it is already too late for Verstappen to challenge in 2025.

I think Red Bull has spent too long dealing with internal problems, he said. "But they did solve the (Horner) problem.

"His successor, Laurent Mekies, is a pioneer of a new generation of team bosses who have a primarily technical background. And I think that's very important.

I believe it's now extremely important for a decision-maker in Formula 1 to have not only a grasp of company policy, but also a technical understanding. Only then is it still possible to bring together people in a team who are a good fit. It's simply no longer enough to be just a manager.

(GMM)