Dr Helmut Marko, mentor and boss to Max Verstappen, and the Red Bull driver's father Jos both acknowledge that the four-time world champion heads into 2025 without the quickest car.
Despite the ongoing Christian Horner situation simmering behind the scenes, Jos Verstappen insists he and his 27-year-old son retain "confidence" in Red Bull.
"But if things don't go well," Jos told Radio Joe, "it's not Max."
Rumours have persisted for over a year that Verstappen could activate a contract exit clause and move to Mercedes or Aston Martin in 2026.
The latest talk suggests Adrian Newey has persuaded Aston Martin owner Lawrence Stroll to table a long-term deal for Verstappen potentially worth up to an incredible billion dollars.
"Adrian Newey is a pure racer and an intelligent person," Red Bull adviser Marko told Servus TV. "The first thing he wants is the fastest driver.
"Max was offered the bait, but in the end Max just wants to win. Everyone in Formula 1 knows that Newey is a genius, but success doesn't come overnight. He needs a good team around him.
"I don't see Max leaving any time soon."
Jos Verstappen, however, stresses that Red Bull's 2025 car performance will be decisive.
"Red Bull must continue to perform," he said. "They must continue to build a good car - that is crucial."
Max was initially upbeat about Red Bull's winter progress on the first day of pre-season testing. "After that, they changed parts and so on," Jos explained.
"He then found the feeling with the car less than before. They then went back to the first specification, but he did not get back the feeling he had on Wednesday."
Jos questions whether Red Bull "do not fully understand the problem" or have "not done the right things" to fix the 2024 handling woes.
"Let me put it this way," Verstappen's father added. "He was not satisfied."
Marko doesn't dispute Jos' take, though he believes Max can still prevail even if McLaren or others hold a slight advantage.
"Max Verstappen will still be the world champion of 2025," he asserted.
"Max does not necessarily have to have the fastest car - although he would of course like that. But he has to get used to fighting now. He can make up a lot, but not half a second," Marko added.
"The goal for 2025 was to create a wider usable range for the car so that the drivers have more confidence," said the Austrian. "We have succeeded in doing this, but not yet perfectly."
Marko conceded that Bahrain testing pointed to McLaren's clear lead for Sunday's race.
"In the endurance runs, they were a second faster. If they can do that in Australia, which is a very different circuit and conditions, it will be a one-two for McLaren.
"McLaren was also clearly superior in the qualifying simulations, although they didn't show it. They drove out and set the fastest first sector time, the fastest second sector time, and then they suddenly drove back into the pits," he noted.
"They were also not at the top of the speed traps, which suggests that they were not yet driving with their full engine power. They were trying to hide.
"So we will see in Australia." body check tags ::
