Permane stamps out Verstappen-to-VCARB test talk: ‘Absolutely none at all’
Zandvoort’s grandstands were still buzzing when the paddock’s latest what-if did the rounds: could Max Verstappen hop into the Visa Cash App RB — the VCARB 02 — to taste a friendlier chassis while Red Bull works the kinks out of the RB21? It made for a neat storyline. It also lasted about five minutes.
Racing Bulls team principal Alan Permane knocked it flat. Asked by Sky Sports F1 whether there’d been any conversations about Verstappen sampling the junior team’s car, Permane didn’t leave an inch of daylight. “Absolutely none at all. Zero,” he said. “I’m sure they’re focused on their own thing, getting the most out of the package that they have, and we’re doing the same here.”
The rumor had legs only because of something Permane himself said earlier this year: that a “top-line” driver would likely find the VCARB 02 comfortable and be able to wring plenty from it. Not exactly a controversial observation — the car has looked planted from the first laps of 2025 — but enough for some to connect dots that weren’t there.
Permane’s view is more nuanced. Over the winter, he says, the Faenza group sensed they’d built a car with manners. The Bahrain test confirmed the direction — even if they weren’t sure of the headline pace at the time. “We realised that we had a nice car to drive,” he explained of that early read. Running it heavy through pre-season gave them confidence, and the opening races validated the concept. From there, development followed the feel: accessible balance, predictable responses, a platform that doesn’t bite.
That’s not the same as designing “easy” on purpose. It’s chasing lap time by widening the operating window, which just happens to be friendly for young drivers finding their feet. It also explains why the notion of Verstappen moonlighting in the sister car was always fanciful. Beyond optics, there’s the rulebook: while Red Bull and Racing Bulls share ownership, they must design and build their cars independently. The guardrails on listed components, plus different architectures and philosophies, mean a star driver cross-check won’t hand you a golden setup sheet. Correlation exercises happen at CFD benches and in wind tunnels — not by loaning out your triple World Champion for a Friday run.
And even if you could, the calendar’s tight. Filming days are limited and tightly policed. Free Practice mileage is scarce and precious. No one in that Milton Keynes-to-Faenza axis is giving away track time right now, especially with both camps locked on their own upgrade paths.
What matters is that Racing Bulls’ package has been good enough to collect points with its regulars, and it looks forgiving enough that a top-class driver would feel at home straight away. That’s the compliment Permane intended. It’s also why the VCARB 02 has become one of the season’s quiet success stories, providing a clean baseline while the field around them oscillates with updates.
Red Bull, for its part, has had a trickier time extracting a consistent balance from the RB21. That’s normal in a rules cycle where the margins are brutal and setup windows move with temperature, wind, and track evolution. The fix isn’t a cameo drive. It’s weeks of correlation, new parts, and a car that talks more clearly to its tires.
So no, Max won’t be popping down the pit lane to try the sibling. That idea belongs to the paddock’s rumor mill, not the garage plan. Permane’s stance was as firm as the Zandvoort banking: Racing Bulls will keep doing Racing Bulls. Red Bull will fix Red Bull. And if the VCARB 02 looks like the kind of car any top driver could light up, that’s the point — not an invitation.
