3 Max Verstappen replacements that Red Bull would have in mind if he leaves

Max Verstappen is not willing to commit to a future at Red Bull beyond 2025, and that was quite obvious with the manner in which he answered the questions in the media. To add to the speculation, we've had George Russell spilling the beans on Mercedes boss Toto Wolff having conversations with the Dutch driver.

It does come as a surprise that Max Verstappen would leave Red Bull only a few months after he won his 4th title with the team, but the sport tends to be fickle, and the Dutch driver does have a few voices in the back of his head that do influence him one way or the other.

With that being said, let's assume there is a case where the Dutch driver leaves Red Bull. What happens then? Who replaces him? Which name is Christian Horner going to target? Let's take a look.

Red Bull's pick for Max Verstappen's replacement

#1 George Russell

Well, the first and most obvious choice is George Russell. It's a straight swap between the two teams as Max Verstappen moves to Mercedes and the team signs him.

In the larger scheme of things, of ofcourse it would not have great optics, as it would appear that the Austrian team is picking up Mercedes' leftovers, but that would be a horrible way to judge and look at a talent like George, who is arguably one of the top 3 drivers in F1 right now.

One has to wonder if this might be the likeliest outcome if Max Verstappen does make a move, but stranger things have happened in the sport.

#2 Charles Leclerc

At the moment, it might appear as if it is wishful thinking, but there's no doubt that Ferrari is going through its own internal turmoil as well. Fred Vasseur's position is in danger, as has been reported already, and none of the senior management has tried to quell the speculation.

At the same time, the team was supposed to compete for the title this season and is nowhere close to doing so. Charles Leclerc has given hints that he might be losing patience in the entire operation, but he continues to stay.

What if Fred Vasseur is given the boot this season, though? Could that make Leclerc think again about what he wants to do? To add to this, while Red Bull might be going through a bad run right now, if there is a team on the grid that one would back to stage a fightback, then it would be Red Bull.

Christian Horner would have to be the best salesman possible, but if he is, Charles Leclerc is someone that he would be eyeing keenly.

#3 Isack Hadjar

The third option would be more of a case of Red Bull accepting its fate that the team will not be able to lure the big names.

At that point, putting the faith in the team's young talent is going to be the next step. There is a lot of talk around Arvid Lindblad, but for the 17-year-old to get a seat at Red Bull, he might have to spend at least a year at Racing Bulls and earn his chops before he takes the next step.

Edited by Charanjot Singh Kohli