Ralf Schumacher Lambasts Max Verstappen and Red Bull for Being ‘Disappointment’ of 2025

Ralf Schumacher did not mince his words while berating Max Verstappen and Red Bull's performance since the beginning of the 2025 season.

Ralf Schumacher Lambasts Max Verstappen and Red Bull for Being ‘Disappointment’ of 2025

Max Verstappen with his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase (via Red Bull), Ralf Schumacher (via IMAGO)

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Red Bull’s performance in the 2025 season has been inadequate. Max Verstappen has given it his all to keep scoring good results, but is unable to do so because of the challenger’s mediocre pace. The Dutchman hasn’t won a race since the Emilia Romagna GP and seems far off the drivers’ title this season. Now, as Milton Keynes gears up for the latter half of the season, ex-F1 driver Ralf Schumacher criticizes Verstappen and the team for their performances this year and christens them with a serious title.

Max Verstappen is the only one scoring a majority of the points at Red Bull. The Dutchman has scored 187 points out of the 194 total for Milton Keynes in the first 14 rounds. Still, as compared to the team’s performance in the previous years, these results come as a massive disappointment. As such, Ralf Schumacher delivers a brutal verdict on the team’s performance up until now.

Ralf Schumacher did not mince his words while berating Red Bull and Max Verstappen’s performances this season. The German accepted that people wouldn’t like his take on the matter, as it was a rather controversial one. Schumacher declared that Milton Keynes has been the biggest disappointment from a team’s perspective this year.

If you look at the results now, you really have to say – and people won’t like me for saying this – the biggest disappointment from a team perspective has to be Red Bull.

Ralf Schumacher said on the Backstage Boxengasse podcast

Ralf Schumacher recalled that Red Bull’s start to the season was still decent compared to their current form. However, the most recent Hungarian GP at Budapest was the ‘low point’ for the team and Max Verstappen in terms of pace and results. Schumacher asserted that he couldn’t even remember when the Dutchman was so far off the victory fight since his rookie days at Toro Rosso (currently Racing Bulls).

Sure, they started the season OK, but now they’ve really faded into irrelevance. And the low point was honestly Budapest. I can’t even remember the last time Max Verstappen – outside his time in Toro Rosso – was that far back.

Ralf Schumacher added

Daniel Ricciardo ‘proud’ of Max Verstappen’s achievements

Max Verstappen might be struggling big time this year, but no performance struggles can strip him of his achievements in Formula 1. The Dutchman is a four-time reigning world champion and has not given up on winning despite the disappointments. As such, Verstappen’s great friend and former teammate at Red Bull, Daniel Ricciardo, has opened up on the 27-year-old’s achievements so far.

Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen (via Red Bull)
Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen (via Red Bull)

Daniel Ricciardo raced alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull from mid-2016 to the 2018 season. Even though the Aussie beat Verstappen in terms of points for all three seasons, he still holds a deep respect for the latter. Ricciardo joked that he lost count of the Dutchman’s championship wins now, as he has already won four by now. The 36-year-old declared that he was proud of the four-time champion and reminisced about their days racing together and against one another back in the day.

Now seeing Max go on to be a four-time world champion. Four-time? I lose count he has won that many now. He’s four-time world champion, I’m proud. Like okay, that was cool — that was a teammate I had, that’s someone I shared a lot of time and track with.

Daniel Ricciardo said at the Connect Event 2025

Max Verstappen is trailing the championship leader Oscar Piastri by 69 points as his title ambitions seem to decline. Verstappen has already noted that his results do not matter anymore, even though the latter half of the season is left. The Dutchman is still going to try hard to keep winning races this season and add to his legacy in Formula 1.

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