Before extending with Red Bull until 2030, Max Verstappen did indeed discuss with several rival teams. The Dutchman fully assumes these exchanges and explains why he ultimately chose to stay.
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Max Verstappen does not try to hide the discussions he may have had with other teams before extending his contract with Red Bull. While his future has fueled many rumors in recent months, the four-time world champion confirms having explored different possibilities before finally deciding to continue the adventure with the Milton Keynes team.
After being regularly linked to Mercedes in 2025, Verstappen was notably announced in the sights of McLaren this season. These speculations finally ended when the Dutchman extended his commitment with Red Bull until the end of the 2030 season.
Verstappen assumes his discussions with the competition
Asked about the seriousness of his exchanges with rival teams, Verstappen did not try to minimize them. For him, it is perfectly normal to listen to the different possibilities that may arise when a driver faces such an important decision for the future of his career.
“Obviously, when you have this kind of discussions, you take them seriously. They are always very respectful exchanges and there is nothing wrong with that.”
The Dutchman therefore seriously considered different scenarios before making his choice. But despite the difficulties encountered by Red Bull since the start of the new technical regulations, he ultimately felt that leaving was not the best solution.
“I felt that staying was the right choice for me. You have to follow your heart.”
“I could have left much earlier”
Verstappen draws a parallel with the early years of his career at Red Bull. When he joined the team, it was not yet able to regularly provide him with a car capable of fighting for the championship against Mercedes.
The Dutchman could then have looked for a way out to join a more competitive team. However, he chose to remain loyal to the project, a patience ultimately rewarded by several world titles.
“I could have left very early in my career at Red Bull and joined another team to try to win. But with a little patience, you end up winning.”
This experience now influences his approach to the more difficult period his team is going through.
“I feel that this is also the approach I am taking today.”
Red Bull is nevertheless going through a difficult period
Verstappen’s decision comes at a time when Red Bull is far from dominating Formula 1. The start of the new regulatory era has been particularly complicated and, after 13 Grands Prix, the team has still not won a single race this season.
Verstappen is thus going through his longest winless period in eight years. At Monza, he still managed to reach the third step of the podium, but Mercedes was clearly superior with Kimi Antonelli and George Russell in the top two spots.
In this context, discussions with other teams could naturally appear as a serious possibility. But Verstappen believes that immediate performances are not the only factor to consider when deciding on his future.
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Red Bull has become a “second family”
After more than a decade spent in the Red Bull environment, the bond between Verstappen and the team now goes beyond the simple results obtained on track. The Dutchman especially emphasizes the importance of feeling comfortable with the people around him.
“It also depends on feeling good within a team. For me, it’s like a second family.”
Verstappen mainly retains the conviction that Red Bull can reverse the trend. The current difficulties do not mean, in his eyes, that the team will remain far from victory for long.
“You have to believe that you can turn things around and build, with other people and new faces, what will be, I hope, a better future.”
A future beyond Formula 1
The relationship between Verstappen and Red Bull is no longer limited to the Formula 1 World Championship. The driver is developing several parallel projects in motorsport, notably around endurance, a discipline in which he wishes to invest more in the future.
Red Bull is expected to be involved in several of these activities as early as next year, an additional element that weighed in his decision to extend.
“In the end, it’s not just Formula 1 for me. I will do a lot of things next year in which Red Bull will also be involved.”
For Verstappen, the equation was therefore broader than a simple comparison between the performances of different cars.
“I feel good here. For me, this is therefore the right place to be.”
Verstappen chooses patience over departure
By extending until 2030, Verstappen has ultimately chosen to bet on Red Bull’s ability to return to the top rather than immediately seek a more competitive car elsewhere. A bet reminiscent of the one made during the early years of his career with the team.
This does not mean that other possibilities were never seriously considered. The Dutchman acknowledges on the contrary having listened to proposals and discussed with the competition, a process he considers perfectly normal.
Despite a winless season so far and the approaches from rival teams, Verstappen has therefore preferred to remain loyal to Red Bull. A decision guided as much by his confidence in the project as by his attachment to a team he now considers his “second family”.