Alan Permane refuses to speculate on Max Verstappen’s future, while acknowledging that a possible departure of the Dutchman could shake up the driver market.
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Max Verstappen’s future continues to fuel rumors in the Formula 1 paddock. While his name is regularly linked to a possible departure from Red Bull at the end of the season, Alan Permane, director of Racing Bulls, agreed to discuss the consequences such a scenario could have… while refusing to draw hasty conclusions.
According to him, too many unknowns still surround this matter to imagine today the repercussions on the driver market.
“It will have no impact on Racing Bulls”
Asked about the consequences of a possible departure of Verstappen, Alan Permane first wanted to remind that this question primarily concerns Red Bull Racing, and not the team he leads.
“For my team, it will have no impact, since he does not drive for me.”
The Briton believes that all decisions regarding a possible replacement will be up to the Red Bull director, Laurent Mekies.
“It will be up to Laurent to decide who his drivers will be next season.”
For several months, Verstappen has been at the heart of many speculations about his future, despite a contract running until the end of the 2028 season. Several rumors have notably mentioned interest from McLaren, even though these reports have been publicly denied by Zak Brown and Raymond Vermeulen, the manager of the four-time world champion.
Lawson and Lindblad ready to seize their chance
If Red Bull were nevertheless to have to replace Verstappen, Racing Bulls could naturally be called upon to promote one of its drivers.
Alan Permane assures that his team would support without hesitation Liam Lawson or Arvid Lindblad if Laurent Mekies considered that one of the two was ready to take on the challenge.
“If he thinks Liam or Arvid is ready to take this step, we will obviously be there to support them.”
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Such a promotion would then free up a spot at Racing Bulls, where the young Nikola Tsolov appears as the most natural candidate. Currently competing in Formula 2 with Campos Racing, the Bulgarian is considered by Permane himself as the next driver in the Red Bull program likely to reach Formula 1.
A driver market far too unpredictable
Despite these possible scenarios, Permane prefers to remain very cautious.
According to him, the driver market is far too complex to imagine today the consequences of a possible departure of Verstappen.
The head of Racing Bulls notably recalls that if the Dutchman joined another team, that team could also free up a seat, triggering a chain of movements much larger than a simple internal promotion.
For example, some rumors have recently mentioned a possible transfer of Verstappen to McLaren, which could then lead to an exchange involving Oscar Piastri rather than a promotion of Lawson or Lindblad to Red Bull.
Conversely, Verstappen could simply remain in Milton Keynes, as he himself has hinted several times in recent months.
“I don’t want to speculate on which driver might move up, nor on what would happen if Max joined another team. There are too many unknowns.”
For Alan Permane, there is only one certainty today: as long as Verstappen has not clarified his future, all scenarios will remain possible, and it is still far too early to predict the extent of the domino effect that a possible transfer could cause in the paddock.
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