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After Toto Wolff's reaction to the incident between George Russell and Max Verstappen in Barcelona, Ralf Schumacher speculates that the Austrian and the current world champion are already talking about the 2026 season. The German was surprised by the Mercedes boss' comments after the Spanish Grand Prix and does not rule out the possibility that something more is behind it.
When an incident like the one between Verstappen and Russell in Barcelona happens, Schumacher makes it clear that the team boss, in this case Wolff, must defend his driver to the maximum — and that was not the case this time. The former German driver describes Toto's reaction as very diplomatic, which, in his opinion, is unusual in such situations.
Because of this, Schumacher believes that Verstappen and Wolff are already talking about next season, although at the moment it seems almost unthinkable that Max would change the middle. The reigning champion has already made it clear that he wants to stay at Red Bull — unless things get too complicated.
"I think Toto Wolff's reaction was very kind, very diplomatic. You would normally expect the team boss to stand up for his driver, but Toto more or less said: let's calmly look at what Max did. That was very surprising to me. You almost get the impression that he and Max are already sitting at the table, eating and talking about next year," Schumacher said in an interview with Sky Germany.
Schumacher shares his views
As for Max's future, Schumacher has no doubts that no one can stop him if he decides to leave, and Helmut Marko has already spoken about it, reminding that he remained faithful to the ideology of Dietrich Mateschitz — that he does not hold back his drivers. In the opinion of the German, the future of Red Bull does not seem overly exciting.
"If Max wants to leave, you can't stop him. Red Bull is currently suffering and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future. Numerous improvements have not borne fruit so far, so... Why would you believe that Pierre Wache will make a miraculous car for the new rules when he doesn't even understand the old ones properly," he pointed out.
"Max obviously wants a car that works, and that's not guaranteed at the moment. He has time to decide, he could wait until the summer break, or even after it," concluded Ralf Schumacher.
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