Max Verstappen has issued a firm statement “ruling out” any potential departure from Red Bull until at least the 2028 Formula 1 season.
The Milton Keynes-based squad has endured a staggering exodus in the last couple of seasons.
Having established a strong grip over the ground effects era, Red Bull dramatically faltered midway through the 2024 season.
Struggling with an inconsistent and somewhat erratic RB20, things started unravelling pretty spectacularly behind-the-scenes as well.
Team Principal and CEO Christian Horner was put under an internal investigation for inappropriate behaviour allegations, of which he was cleared.
However, this culminated in a full-blown political fallout, leading to Horner’s sacking in July, last year.
Sporting Director Jonathan Wheatley, Adrian Newey and most recently, Advisor Helmut Marko have all left the team in quick succession.
That said, Verstappen, who had been rumored to be in strong negotiations with Mercedes and Aston Martin – after having been reportedly disillusioned with the team – has delivered a telling insight into his future at the team.
“I’m 28 now and I have a contract with Red Bull until 2028,” he told Blick. “I want to fulfil that contract. At this point in time, I’m ruling out a change of team.
“It’s a shame that I won’t have my friend and mentor Helmut Marko by my side in 2026. I’ll miss him.”
Max Verstappen ‘proud’ of Red Bull turnaround in 2026
The Dutchman was hopelessly lagging the McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, after the summer break, sitting a mammoth 104 points behind the Australian.
But with Laurent Mekies taking over the reins from Horner, the team saw a stark technical turnaround. Red Bull brought a crucial floor upgrade to the 28-year-old’s RB21, and things started to pick up for Verstappen from the Italian GP onwards.
A rejuvenated Verstappen went on a rampant run – winning at Monza, Baku, Austin, Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi. Yet, he missed out on a fifth-consecutive title by just two points over Norris.
Despite this, Verstappen credited the team for working endlessly to rectify the package, and give him a fighting chance on track when everything else was falling apart. This perhaps has edged the four-time F1 Champion to stick around at Milton-Keynes for the foreseeable future at least.
“Yes,” Verstappen responded when asked if he was proud of how the team turned things around for him mid-season.
“Because in the midst of the turmoil surrounding the change of team boss, no one would have believed we could do it. Before this final sprint, we were still 104 points behind.”
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