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Reportedly, Red Bull driver Max Verstappen will stay with the Austrian team for the 2026 season after making the decision at the Belgian Grand Prix. The Dutch driver's contract with the Milton Keynes-based outfit has been in the news for over 18 months, with Mercedes showcasing significant interest.
Amid the internal conflict and power battle within Red Bull, there have been reports claiming that the four-time F1 world champion was looking to move away from the team. Since the start of the 2024 season, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has been in constant contact with the Dutchman and his representatives regarding the move to the German team.
As reported by Eric van Hasen of de Telegraaf, Max Verstappen has decided to stay with the former world champions for the 2026 season but left the door open for an exit the following year. The 27-year-old has a contract with Red Bull until the end of the 2028 season, but certain exit clauses might allow him to leave the team before.
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With Verstappen's reported decision, Wolff is set to continue with his driver pairing of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli and might sign a new deal with both drivers in the next couple of weeks. The two Mercedes drivers will be out of contract at the end of the 2025 season, but were left in limbo due to Wolff's insistence on signing Max Verstappen.
Max Verstappen reflects on a key weakness in the RB21
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen stated that the inability to manage their tires was one of the bigger weaknesses of the RB21 after he was unable to get past Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc throughout the 2025 Belgian Grand Prix.
Speaking with F1's official website, the Dutch driver reflected on his performance and said:
“It was just very tough to pass. At one time, I was really close going into Eau Rouge, but you lose so much downforce when you are behind. The car becomes really unstable, so you couldn’t really keep it on the road. We went onto the slick tyres and to be honest, every lap, I just felt that Charles was pulling away a little bit.
“Of course, I always try to get into the fight, but today, partly because of the rear wing that we chose because we hardly did any wet laps in the end which generally, I think is a shame. I think we could have gone racing. That’s not ideal but the biggest problem is still how we keep our tyres alive in the race. We’re just not strong enough on that.”
Max Verstappen now sits 81 points behind table leader and McLaren driver Oscar Piastri in the driver's standings with over half of the season complete.
