Max Verstappen has signed a new deal with Red Bull Racing that will see him represent the team through to at least 2030, though he came very close to quitting the circuit entirely over concerns he had with the 2026 engine changes and what they meant for the sport.
No driver was truly happy with the heavily hybridised power units, but Verstappen has been very vocal about how much they’ve impacted the driver’s ability to impact any given race. He has described them as “anti-racing” several times.
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here had been rumours that he was considering leaving Red Bull, with McLaren a landing spot repetitively floated by the media — but he never really thought about that pick.
Instead, Verstappen’s conversations with Red Bull largely revolved around whether he actually wanted to keep driving in Formula 1. When he decided that he did, the fresh deal unveiled before the Dutch Grand Prix race this weekend basically became a formality, with details thrashed out in weeks.
“I never felt that desire or need also to change [to another team] to try and win somewhere else,” he said, per ESPN. “If I feel well within the team here, why should I? I know that they do everything for me, and they know that I do everything for them once I’m on the track and trying to get the results.”
Verstappen also confirmed that he had been “closer to retiring than changing teams,” and laughed off suggestions that he had nearly swapped seats with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri mid-year.
“I have to say, after the first few races, I said to Laurent [Mekies], ‘Don’t come to me with any kind of questions about the future’ because I didn’t even know if I wanted to stay in F1. We always kept it very open.”
Whether this deal actually keeps him on the grid beyond 2030 remains to be seen, though, with the four-time champion making it very clear that he is still immensely against the recent changes and wants to see updates if possible.
“I love racing, and I think I had a lot of very good discussions with F1 but also with the FIA, and I think we are slowly working towards something that becomes better and better. And, from my side, of course, I accepted the situation that I think we’re all in and just trying to make the best of that,” he said.
“I think also with the year that I signed to it again opens up the door maybe when potentially the V8s come in to look at that again as well.”
Max will race for Red Bull again this weekend, with a Sprint Saturday and the race Sunday (AEST).
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