At the moment, it's just a rumour, a cryptic whisper that escaped from the paddock at Silverstone and now appears to be another of the possible conjectures about the Red Bull earthquake, or one of the many rumours of a silly season that started well in advance but has the charm and potential of a sensational bombshell: Red Bull could give Verstappen the chance to field his own team in F1.
A few days ago, it seemed crazy, but today, with the situation at Red Bull appearing so complex and evolving, it could take on more concrete forms: the departure of key figures such as Adrian Newey, Rob Marshall and, now, Christian Horner has clearly marked the end of an incredibly successful cycle. In this scenario of drastic changes and power struggles, allowing Verstappen to field a team bearing his name could be the perfect move to silence the sceptics and reunite the environment around the Dutch champion, exploiting his enormous global popularity. For such a project, Horner's presence was somewhat inconvenient and, despite his undoubted abilities, also unwelcome to the Verstappen clan, who were willing to reorganise the company's shares to win the internal war.
From a marketing point of view, the operation would be brilliant: Max Verstappen, with his huge following, could replicate the commercial success of similar operations already seen in other sports. A “Verstappen GP Red Bull F1 Team” would immediately become a global brand, capable of attracting sponsors, merchandising and fans with a force comparable to that seen with Michael Jordan in the NBA, with the “Jordan Brand” operation.
The history of Formula 1 also offers some interesting insights, albeit in significantly different contexts and eras, but the appeal is similar. Without going back to the dawn of F1, let's think about Stewart Grand Prix, founded by former world champion Jackie Stewart in the 1990s. Despite initial scepticism, the team quickly made a name for itself, achieving significant results before becoming Jaguar and then the current Red Bull Racing. And let's not forget the example of Brawn GP, born from the ashes of Honda in 2009: Ross Brawn took over the Japanese team, incredibly leading it to victory in the world championship in the same year.
Of course, Formula 1 is different from MotoGP and other sports: the costs and managerial complexity of a team are enormous. However, Red Bull Racing has all the necessary resources to support such a project, while also guaranteeing financial stability. Among other things, the owners could also choose to use the minor team, the current Visa Cash App, for this fascinating operation, considering that it now has advanced resources and technical facilities at its disposal, mostly based in England.
We are still in the realm of sophisticated speculation, of course, but it is a suggestion that comes from the paddock and would have all the characteristics to be the most sensational twist in a season already full of surprises.
Original article on www.formula1.it
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