Every Formula 1 team and driver will be waiting on Max Verstappen's decision regarding his future beyond his current Red Bull Racing contract that expires at the end of the 2028 season.
That is the claim of 1997 F1 Champion Jacques Villeneuve, who claims no one will make a move until Verstappen announces his.
The Dutchman's future at Red Bull Racing has come under doubt amid struggles within the team, in addition to the raft of personnel changes with Christian Horner fired and Adrian Newey jumping ship to Aston Martin, while Helmut Marko announced he would retire days after the 2025 season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Some expected Verstappen not to honor his contract and activate performance-based exit clauses, as the likes of Mercedes and Aston Martin have apparently been competing for his signature.
In the end, the four-time F1 Champion announced he would stay at Red Bull for now, as he will most probably be biding his time and seeing which team emerges as the most competitive in the era of new chassis and power unit regulations that will kick off in 2026.
Verstappen waiting
"He's there waiting to see what's going on," Villeneuve said. "He's the one; he's the puppet master. He can go anywhere. Any team would be stupid not to take him.
"All his cars have been made by Adrian Newey, somehow, in some ways," the Canadian added. "It's such a big question mark next year.
"That's the aspect I find exciting about the new rules. We don't know what to expect. We kind of knew this year that the McLaren would be quick.
"So, it wasn't a surprise. Now it was quicker than expected. Next year it's a shot in the dark. It could be any of the teams. It's amazing," he maintained.
And on the topic of McLaren, Lando Norris managed to beat teammate Oscar Piastri as well as Verstappen to take his maiden F1 title.
However, it wasn't smooth sailing for the Briton, who struggled at the start of 2025 when Piastri had the upper hand, but the Australian's challenge failed from midseason onwards as talks about preferential treatment embedded within the team's Papaya Rules in favor of Norris.
What are Papaya Rules?
"We don't even know what the Papaya Rules are!" Villeneuve said of Papaya Rules. "It's just a name which goes with the color of the car. Ultimately, every team has rules, that drivers who are teammates should not run into each other.
"It's the norm. They just don't give it a special name, a nickname like McLaren did. That's all. Without a nickname you cannot make fun of it! It's that simple.
"And ultimately, it's not just team rules; it's whatever the drivers have in that contract. It's that simple."
As for how Piastri's season unraveled, he continued: "It's tough because Oscar led for most of it. He was on the way up, but I guess he was climbing too early in the season.
"It was the wrong time to have the momentum, I guess. But Baku [where Piastri crashed] was costly. I think Baku really affected him.
"In the last two races he was quick, but it took him a while to get that momentum going again, which is very strange. And at the time when Norris actually stepped on the gas.
No one can predict anything with new regulations
"It's a long season, and when you lead it for so long and you have a big advantage in your mind, you think, 'Ok, I'm there; all I need is to not make mistakes.'
"Then you throw it away. It can be frustrating, but he knows he can drive fast, so if the car permits, he'll get another shot.
"That's the issue with the regulation changes; no one knows which team will be quick, and it might not be McLaren," Villeneuve said, referring to the 2026 regulation changes.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown claimed Piastri is a future F1 Champion, but Villeneuve claims the American's choice of words was poor.
"He might. Zak Brown should have said Oscar might be world champion, not will be," he said. "It was the same thing for Norris.
"This was the one year where he had to go and grab it. Because who knows what the regulations will do," he concluded.
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