Max Verstappen has addressed that he sees “no reason” to depart Red Bull’s Formula 1 team amid rumours linking him with a speculative future switch to Mercedes.
Verstappen has been aligned with Red Bull for his entire F1 career and has since gone on to accrue 55 race victories and three consecutive Drivers’ Championships.
But despite dominating the 2024 season-opener in Bahrain last week, rumours have surrounded Verstappen’s future amid the friction behind the scenes at Red Bull.
Verstappen’s father Jos stated that Red Bull could “explode” with Christian Horner’s presence at the helm, despite the Briton having been cleared of recent allegations.
Jos was pictured talking with Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff in the Bahrain paddock, generating speculation that the marque could target a move for Verstappen.
But asked whether he was sure he would see out his contract with Red Bull until the end of 2028, the Dutchman pledged his commitment to the reigning champions.
“That has, of course, always been the intention of signing. That’s why we signed so long to be here,” Verstappen said regarding his contractual situation with Red Bull.
“Of course it’s about the performance of the car, and of course from 2026 onwards, anyway that is a bit of a question mark with new regulations, but I knew that when I signed my contract.
“But I also know what they have done for me in my career, right?
“So, yeah, the intention is, of course, absolutely to stay with this team, because I really enjoy it, and I’m also really happy within the team.
“And as long as we perform, there is no reason also to leave.”
Mercedes had attempted to prize Verstappen into its ranks in 2015 when he was unassigned to a programme but couldn’t make available an instant F1 promotion.
Despite failing to rule out a possible move to Mercedes in the future, Verstappen reiterated that Red Bull’s dominance shows there aren’t better options elsewhere.
“The thing is, I think no one would have ever realised or seen that Lewis [Hamilton] would move to Ferrari, in my life, and that doesn’t matter, that’s not related to F1 or whatever, right?
“It’s just general life, you never know what happens or what comes to you, or whatever happens around you, or what might influence you, so you can never say 100%, that’s how it’s gonna be.
“And I approach my life like that, but I also don’t think about it too much, I’m very relaxed, like I said, I’m very happy at the team, the performance is there, there is no reason to leave.”
The potential for Verstappen to depart F1’s pre-eminent force for a team with one win in the past two seasons could come amid a focus on the upcoming rules change.
The sport will introduce a seismic overhaul to the cars in 2026 with Red Bull having predicted the new generation of machines could create an engine-dominated formula.
With Red Bull undertaking work on an F1 power unit for the first time as part of a collaboration with Ford, Verstappen was asked about his confidence in the project.
“This is impossible to know, it’s a continuous work in progress, and I know that a lot of people are working very hard on the engine,” he answered.
“It’s just trusting that process, once the engine is fully ready, that it’s gonna be a quick engine.”
Verstappen also clarified that his run to a 22-second win in Bahrain demonstrated that the team’s on-track showing hasn’t suffered from the noise in the background.
“Well it’s not about being isolated from it,” he said. “I mean, I think you could see in Bahrain that it doesn’t affect the performance of the team.
“Of course, ideally as a team you wouldn’t like to have these kind of moments, but it also shows that I think we are all quite focused on our job, and that’s of course to perform on the track.”
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