Max Verstappen has put to rest some of the chatter about his future in Formula 1. The four-time world champion recently spoke to Swiss publication Blick and made it clear that he wants to see out his current deal with Red Bull, which runs until the end of 2028. At 28 years old, Verstappen says he is not looking to switch teams anytime soon, despite plenty of speculation linking him to Mercedes over the past couple of years.
Verstappen stated he wants to fulfill his contract and is ruling out a team change at this point in time. This news comes during an interesting transition period for Red Bull, as the team prepares for major regulation changes in 2026 and deals with some significant personnel shifts. The biggest change involves Helmut Marko, who has been Red Bull’s motorsport advisor since the team joined Formula 1 back in 2005. Marko will step down at the end of 2025 after more than two decades with the company.
The timing might seem worrying to some fans, given how close Verstappen and Marko are. Marko was the first person within the team who believed in Verstappen’s championship charge this season, and he has been a mentor to the Dutch driver throughout his career. Marko took a massive gamble by pushing Red Bull to bring Verstappen into Formula 1 at just 17 years old, a decision that many questioned at the time but has paid off spectacularly. Verstappen himself acknowledged this relationship, saying it is a shame that his friend and mentor will not be by his side in 2026.
There is more to this story than just friendship. Verstappen’s contract has some interesting clauses that give him a way out if things go south. According to recent reports, Verstappen can leave Red Bull without a transfer fee if he is not at least second in the championship by the end of July 2026. The clause becomes even more favorable in 2027, when he would only need to be outside the championship lead at the summer break to activate it. These terms were negotiated by Marko himself, which apparently caused some internal friction at Red Bull when they were agreed upon back in 2022.
The 2026 season is going to be critical for everyone involved. Formula 1 is introducing completely new technical regulations, including major changes to the power units. Red Bull will debut their own engine built in collaboration with Ford, and nobody really knows who will come out on top when the dust settles. Marko admitted that Red Bull is not targeting race wins until after the summer break in 2026, which means there is a real possibility Verstappen could be in a position to trigger his exit clause if he wanted to.
Despite all this uncertainty, Marko has indicated Verstappen is not looking to leave and wants to succeed in a harmonious environment. The 2025 season showed what Verstappen is capable of even when the car is not perfect. He fell 104 points behind after the Dutch Grand Prix but clawed his way back to finish just two points short of a fifth consecutive championship. His performances earned him recognition from both fellow drivers and team principals as the best driver of the season.
Red Bull has been through some turbulent times recently. Earlier in 2025, team principal Christian Horner left the team amid controversy and was replaced by Laurent Mekies. The Austrian parent company has been taking more control over the F1 operations to bring stability to both Red Bull teams. With Marko now leaving, the team will need to figure out how to restructure their young driver program, which he built and managed for two decades.
Verstappen has been clear about one thing throughout all of this. He will not still be racing in Formula 1 when he turns 40. He has even hinted that MotoGP could be part of his plans after his F1 career ends. For now though, his focus is on making the most of these next few years with Red Bull, assuming the team can give him a competitive car under the new regulations.
The 2026 season starts with pre-season testing in Barcelona, where all the teams will get their first proper look at how the new regulations have shaken up the competitive order. For Red Bull and Verstappen, it will be the beginning of a new chapter without Marko in the garage, but with the same goal of winning championships. Whether Verstappen actually stays through 2028 will likely come down to whether Red Bull can build him a fast enough car to fight for titles. Performance has always been his priority, and that is not going to change.
