Red Bull chief advisor Helmut Marko has officially declared Max Verstappen’s dominant period with the team as ‘over’, citing that the world championship fight is done for 2025.

Verstappen claimed four consecutive world championship titles between 2021-2024, in a stunning period of dominance in which he broke a plethora of F1 records.

However, a record-equalling fifth consecutive title now looks to be out of reach, as the Dutchman sits 69 points behind McLaren’s Oscar Piastri with 12 races left in the season.

The team that has been most closely linked with signing Verstappen for when new regulations come sweeping into the sport has been Mercedes, with Toto Wolff confirming that discussions have taken place between the two parties.