Verstappen's multi-year extension with Red Bull locks down the grid's top asset and slams the door on what little driver-market movement was left. Red Bull survives its brain drain—losing Lambiase to McLaren and Monaghan reportedly to Cadillac—by keeping the one piece that matters. Laurent Mekies gets credit for that, a win the Horner-era Red Bull might not have pulled off.
The losers: Carlos Sainz, whose Williams move now looks like settling; Oscar Piastri and anyone else dreaming of a top seat that won't open; Aston Martin, which can't capitalize on a shuffle even if Newey's design and Honda's power unit deliver; George Russell dodges the threat of replacement at Mercedes; and F1 itself, which avoids the embarrassment of losing its strongest driver but reinforces a static grid where top drivers never move. The championship fight stays interesting. The market doesn't.
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