Red Bull share huge fear Max Verstappen will copy Nico Rosberg and blow apart entire plan

Red Bull boss Helmut Marko has admitted the team are worried Max Verstappen could follow in the footsteps of Nico Rosberg and walk away from F1 with no notice. Rosberg decided to quit F1 days after beating Lewis Hamilton to win the 2016 Drivers’ Championship.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff admitted the team were taken “completely by surprise” at Rosberg’s decision. When asked if there were fears Verstappen could “do a Nico Rosberg”, Marko claimed the team could only hope he doesn’t do the same.

Marko told the Inside Line F1 podcast: "I’m aware of it, he won’t go forever. But I hope that he doesn’t do it like Nico and just saying [it] after a bad year.

“Give us some warning, at least, so we can react on it! But I’m aware that it will come.” It comes after Verstappen repeatedly suggested he was considering calling time on his F1 career.

Ahead of last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Verstappen stressed he wasn’t sure he would commit to a new deal once his current contract expires. His deal lasts until the end of the 2028 campaign meaning Verstappen could be entering his last five seasons in F1.

The reigning world champion doubled down on his assertions ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix as he slammed F1's new qualifying format. He then continued his claims at the Monaco Grand Prix and even revealed plans for life after F1.

Verstappen told Sky Sports F1: “I love Le Mans, I love other 24-hour races, I love GT3 cars on the Nordschleife. I want to do all of that one day in my life, and not when I'm 40 or 50. Because then I'm no longer at the peak of my performance. At 31, I'm pretty sure I'll still be able to do great things. We'll see."

However, Verstappen’s manager Raymond Vermeulen appeared to address concerns over his F1 future ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix. He told Formule 1 magazine: “Why would Max make a switch now in this situation? We are not interested in that.

“But it's a small world, everyone and everything talks to each other and we have a commitment until 2028. And as you can see, Max is in the role of his life, driving without pressure. Everyone gets the same equipment, and everyone is free to try to beat Max.”