F1 champion Max Verstappen says he's staying with Red Bull team for 2026
auto racing
By JAMES ELLINGWORTH
Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen says he is staying with the Red Bull team next year, ending months of speculation over his future.
'Some people just like to stir the pot, some people just like to create drama. But, for me, it's always been quite clear, and also for next year," the four-time champion said Thursday ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix.
"I'm discussing with the team already the plans — the things that we want to change for next year, so that means that I'm also staying with the team for next year.'
Verstappen has a contract with Red Bull through 2028. At recent races he had deflected questions about whether he'd stay with the team next year, and there had been indications that a performance-related clause could allow him to exit the contract early. The details of any clause are not public.
His announcement brings some much-needed stability for Red Bull, less than a month after Christian Horner was removed from his role as Red Bull team principal after 20 years and replaced by Laurent Mekies. Verstappen last week dismissed the suggestion that Horner's firing would affect his decision on his future.
Red Bull is more dependent on Verstappen than any of F1's other leading teams are on any one driver. Of the 192 points Red Bull has scored this season, Verstappen contributed 185, while his teammate Yuki Tsunoda hasn't scored a point in the last six races.
Teams are also well underway with developing cars for the major rule changes coming in 2026, so it would have been especially disruptive if Verstappen left.
Mercedes driver George Russell had said he believed his team was holding talks with Verstappen, and speculation was further fueled by reports that Verstappen and Mercedes boss Toto Wolff's yachts were off the Italian island of Sardinia at the same time.
'If my boat is next to Toto's, then the boat is next to Toto's," Verstappen said Thursday. "You can have a personal relationship with someone even if you don't have a working relationship with someone.'
With Verstappen out of the running for a Mercedes seat, it could speed up extensions for Russell and his 18-year-old rookie teammate Kimi Antonelli, who are not contracted beyond 2025.
Russell and Verstappen are the only non-McLaren drivers to win Grand Prix races this season, while Antonelli started his debut season strongly but has missed the points in the last three races.
Verstappen is heading into his 200th career race for Red Bull on Sunday, but it's not the first time the Dutch driver's future with the team has appeared uncertain. Last season, he confirmed his commitment to Red Bull in June after suggestions Mercedes could sign him to replace Lewis Hamilton, who was leaving for Ferrari at the time.
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