Red Bull: Max Verstappen will wait, but doesn't rule out goodbye
Max Verstappen and Red Bull dominated Formula 1 together from 2021 to last season, which, however, experienced the first overbearing resurgence of competition (as evidenced by McLaren winning the constructors world championship). Now the Dutchman’s stay in the team that made him a four-time world champion is tut’all but guaranteed, and he himself has yet again made it clear in extremely clear words.
He did so in an interview with his compatriots at ‘De Telegraaf’ to which Verstappen outlined the picture of his near future: “My intention is known to the team, because I have already told them as well. I would like to stay in Red Bull even in 2026, unless really strange situations arise. But right now leaving is not what I want”.
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There remains an increasingly difficult dissatisfaction to hide, as the early days at Imola have already made quite clear. “If one could evaluate only by the performance of the car, and every year one could choose for whom to drive, one would probably change every year. But that is not possible” said Verstappen. Jokingly, but up to a point.
And indeed, in the interview, he talked about the real prospects of him staying at Red Bull, but also the prospects of moving to Mercedes. “Last year I spoke with Toto Wolff for the first time since 2021 – Verstappen stressed -But besides the past, we also talked about the future. And not only about Formula 1, because in their project there’s also more. However, I want to see how the rest of this season will go, at least up to a certain point. The next races could decide my future, and I think everyone in the team knows that”.
