Verstappen’s current deal expires in 2028, but he has finally opened the door to sticking around.
Max Verstappen revealed he doesn’t want to race for too many teams as he opens the door to extending his Formula 1 contract with Red Bull, although he also sends them a warning by pointing out he could easily leave too.
The Dutchman penned a new deal following the 2021 F1 season when he claimed his maiden title after defeating Lewis Hamilton at the controversial Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which commits him to Milton Keynes until 2028.
And whilst he continuously hinted at retiring from the sport at the end of that deal, 2024 has been particularly worrying for Christian Horner following the open courting by Toto Wolff of his star driver in a bid to prize him away to replace Hamilton.
Even more concerning is that a switch to the Silver Arrows isn’t something Verstappen outright denied an interest in ahead of the 2026 F1 regulations change, with Mercedes tipped to be producing a strong engine, although Red Bull just received a major contract boost ahead of the 2024 United States GP at the Circuit of the Americas.
“At the moment, anything is possible. It’s very easy to change teams,” Verstappen told Planet F1. “But I don’t want my career to be marked by that. I don’t want to be part of four or five different teams.
“I want to feel at home. Changing teams is not my thing and is not something I am concerned with at this stage of my career.”
Verstappen to Mercedes: What’s the latest?
Mercedes and Verstappen seemed to close the door on each other for now as the 26-year-old reaffirmed his commitment to Red Bull for the 2025 season, whilst Wolff opted to promote Kimi Andrea Antonelli instead.
It was a somewhat anti-climatic outcome following the flirting between the pair of them for the duration of the season, particularly after the defending champions suffered a slump in form following the 2024 Chinese GP as they came under threat from McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes.
And for now, it really does seem that their love affair has come to a close as the Austrian team principal declares he won’t be making any comments that would undermine George Russell and Antonelli going forwards.
“We’re sitting back,” Wolff told Motorsport.com. “I think I’ve expressed it before, and we have a similar view also from Max’s side. You’ve got to put faith in your drivers or in your team.
“You need to give it the maximum support you can to make it a success. And only if things go really wrong, you will consider other opportunities.
“For me, it’s like flirting outside whilst you’re making your relationship work. It doesn’t work, I’m not flirting outside.”
Discussion about this post