Helmut Marko shares latest update on Max Verstappen's future with Red Bull

Red Bull's Helmut Marko has said that Max Verstappen's future with the team is now more secure as the Dutch driver has publicly committed to the team. Since last season, there have been rumors and reports that Verstappen is possibly looking at life outside of the Austrian team.

First it was the political turmoil that Red Bull went through, which further led to speculation that the driver could move to Mercedes. Then there has been the slow but steady decline of the team from being the benchmark in F1 to one where it has been overtaken by McLaren in the pecking order.

While Max Verstappen was able to win the title last season, this season it looks to be a much tougher situation. McLaren appears to have a decent advantage over not only Red Bull but also other teams as well.

So much so that after the race in Bahrain, where Verstappen could only finish P6, even Helmut Marko admitted that there was doubt over the driver's future with the team. After the race in Miami, however, the Austrian was more confident about Verstappen staying in the team. He told Bild,

“That's true, but they [the fears] have already shrunk. Max is loyal and subsequently publicly committed to Red Bull. That fits with how I see him now. He's fully focused on his job here. That's why I don't think he's even considering a change. Quite the opposite. I'm convinced Max will continue to compete for Red Bull in 2026.”

He added,

“Before the season, we talked about our expectations for 2025. Everyone – including Max – agreed that defending the title is obviously the goal, but we can't assume that we'll succeed. We'll do everything we can, but no one can expect us to win every time. We have to take home the maximum number of points possible.”

Marko's disappointing verdict after Max Verstappen's Miami GP defeat

The race in Miami was very one-sided, as both McLaren drivers, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, jumped Max Verstappen in the race and had a comfortable advantage over the rest of the field. Talking about the race to the media, including RacingNews365, Marko admitted that the gap was just too big. He said,

"Max showed his magic over one lap. But in the race, we saw that on average we were seven-tenths to a second behind the McLarens, who were both going full out. Lando Norris had a bad start and steamed up, then we saw the real speed."

He added:

"McLaren was just superior. They are stronger on the straights and their tyre wear is also less. As I said, when you're seven-tenths to a second behind, that's a big difference."

Max Verstappen is currently third in the championship and 32 points behind Oscar Piastri. Unless Red Bull finds something significant, it would be hard for the Dutch driver to challenge for the title.