Max Verstappen He received a bucket of cold water recently after it became known that Lee Stevenson will no longer be part of Red Bull. The Briton was one of the main allies of the Dutch pilot in the Austrian team that is currently not going through the best moment for him.
This is nothing more and nothing less than the person who had been working as chief mechanic for the three-time world champion of the Formula 1 coming off a disastrous weekend at the Australian Grand Prix when he had to abandon the race due to problems with the RB20’s braking system that ended up in flames.
With a message on his social networks, Lee Stevenson confirmed his departure from the energy drink team, which translates as a hard blow for Max Verstappen who had finished first in the first two races of the 2024 season: Bahrain and Saudi Arabia but who He had a crash last weekend in Melbourne.
“2006-2024: Red Bull Racing has been an incredible journey, thank you very much”commented the mechanic who did not reveal where he will continue his career from now on after a long 18 years working alongside the Dutchman since his arrival at the energy drink team.
“It has been an incredible journey and one that I am very proud of. “What we have achieved has been monumental and something I would never have imagined in 2006.”added the Briton who began his career as a motorsport mechanic at just 15 years old with the Jordan team in 1999.
Lee Stevenson’s decision comes in the midst of the controversies in which the Austrian team is immersed after accusations of alleged misconduct on the part of the director, Christian Hornerwith an employee which has unleashed a hurricane within the team.
Tensions within Red Bull have escalated to such an extent that Max Verstappen’s father at one point even raised the possibility of his son leaving the team as a form of pressure to get Horner to leave, with whom he has a fight. powers.
Rumors immediately began to emerge about the possibility of the Dutchman leaving for Mercedes starting next season, taking into account that the German team will have a free space with the departure of the British Lewis Hamilton, who already has an agreement with Ferrari.
For now, Max Verstappen himself assured that he would like to fulfill his contract with the Austrians, which expires in 2028. However, the departure of Lee Stevenson could make him change his mind, and Helmut Marko and Adrian Newey could also change their scene. whenever.
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