'It was over immediately'- WATCH: Max Verstappen talks about shutting down Zak brown's interests

Max Verstapen is the best driver on the 2025 grid. It is not because Max is the reigning world champion with 4 world titles, it is because he is still going quicker through the corners and setting the faster lap times, eventhough he does not have the best machine on the 2025 grid. If you compare the last 10 years, Max Verstappen always goes quicker than his teammates like Daniel Ricciardo, Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, Sergio Perez and Liam Lawson.

WATCH: Verstappen shutting down Zak Brown's interests

He has now become the face of the Red Bull Racing team, and to at least keep him, the Austrian team has to give him the best machine to fight. Formula 1 is more business than sport, so every team wants the best drivers on the planet driving for them. Even last year, Max Verstappen’s biggest rival team, Mercedes, approached him for a driver seat in place of Lewis Hamilton, but the deal didn't go well for Toto Wolff. Apart from them, McLaren also approached Verstappen for a driver seat, and the Dutch driver revealed the news during the 2025 Australian Grand Prix. Speaking to a Dutch channel, he was asked about Zak Brown’s call.

max: “when he knew how much he would have to pay, it was over immediately.”

max talking about the phonecall zak made 😭 pic.twitter.com/dCXccZRbqE

— nini (@SCUDERIAFEMBOY) March 14, 2025

Verstappen replied that Brown never really called him; maybe he should have called his management team. He said after hearing his salary that the phone call was over immediately. The reporter then asked how much. And Max replied a lot. Max Verstappen is the highest-paid F1 driver on the grid. This year will be a challenge for Max verstappen and Red Bull as they are currently not the quickest out there. If they beat their rivals with this Red Bull car, full credit goes to Max Verstappen’s driving. 

The Dutch driver is still strong, and his teammate Liam Lawson is nowhere near him. We expect a huge shake-up in the drivers' market after the end of the season. There were speculations that Verstappen could leave the team by the end of the year and join either Mercedes or Aston Martin. But it all depends on how the Red Bull car performs this year, and nobody wants to be in a losing team, especially Max Verstappen.

Also Read: Australian GP 2025 FP3 results: Oscar Piastri fires up with P1; Russell & Verstappen back in form