Former F1 driver Mark Webber hopes that Max Verstappen will still choose to stay in Formula 1 for the time being. The current manager of Oscar Piastri not only sees how the Dutchman attracts more fans to the premier class, but also elevates all drivers on the current grid to a higher level. ‘You need someone who gives you sleepless nights as a driver, and Verstappen has done that for a long time,’ says Webber.
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Mark Webber was a Formula 1 driver between 2002 and 2013, including for the Red Bull team. Although the Australian is now the manager of McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, he also closely monitors the situation at his old employer. The former F1 driver speaks out about Max Verstappen’s future, and what it would mean for Red Bull and Formula 1 in general if the Dutchman decides to leave.
“It goes without saying that Red Bull would like to see Max stay,” Webber tells RN365. “That is very easy to predict. But if you also look at the sport as a whole, someone like him is exactly what the sport needs. People turn on the TV because of Max Verstappen, and Liberty knows that. The teams know that. He is important.”
‘Important to keep Max in F1’
Although Verstappen, according to Webber, has earned the right to choose where he continues his racing adventures, “he also now has a huge trophy cabinet at home,” the Australian would find it a shame if he does not do so in Formula 1. “In short, it is really important that we keep Max in the sport, because he lifts all the drivers on the grid to a higher level, and that is what Formula 1 is all about. You constantly have to be lifted to a higher level.”
“It’s like Rafa (Nadal, ed.) and Roger (Federer, ed.),” Webber draws the comparison with tennis. “If Rafa isn’t there, Roger lifts you up, and vice versa. You need someone who gives you sleepless nights as a driver, and Verstappen has done that for a long time. Personally, if you talk about neutrality, and of course I am biased in favor of Oscar, but if I am neutral regarding the sport, then of course I want Max to stay in Formula 1.”
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