Gerhard Berger has suggested that Adrian Newey might play a pivotal role in determining the next steps of Max Verstappen's Formula 1 career.
Once a partial owner of Red Bull's secondary Formula 1 team, Berger was queried by Bild am Sonntag about the speculation that Verstappen might be contemplating an escape clause in his current contract due to the ongoing performance and leadership struggles within Red Bull.
"Max is certainly currently in a phase of strong consideration as to what he will do without his mentor Helmut Marko and technical guru Adrian Newey," mentioned the ex-Ferrari and McLaren racer, who is notably close to Red Bull's Austrian F1 circle.
As it stands, Newey has already scaled back his involvement in many of his responsibilities at Red Bull, while Helmut Marko, the 81-year-old team advisor, has recently managed to survive a speculated attempt by Christian Horner to remove him from his position.
Consequently, Verstappen's allegiance to his advisor seems more firm than ever.
"Red Bull is certainly the best solution for Max at the moment," Berger commented, "but he will go for a better solution as soon as an opportunity arises. If he notices that his car is starting to weaken and he sees advantages elsewhere, he will take that opportunity. He is driven by performance."
However, Berger believes that Mercedes does not currently present a tempting option for Verstappen — a situation that could change if Newey were to accept an offer from Toto Wolff.
"It's a must for every team to want to get him," Berger stated, regarding Newey.
"If Newey were to choose Mercedes, Verstappen would be there in no time. Newey is an absolute genius - where he is, there is success," Berger asserted. "He has proven that over the last 25 years."
"But at the moment it looks like Newey will end up at Ferrari. If that happens, and I'm assuming it will, a new era of success could begin with team boss (Frederic) Vasseur, Newey, (Charles) Leclerc and (Lewis) Hamilton. In my opinion, a powerful union like this would be difficult for the others to beat."
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