Verstappen stayed despite ‘constructive discussions’ with Mercedes

Under a long-term contract with Red Bull, until the end of the 2028 season, Max Verstappen was nevertheless linked to transfer rumors during the first six months of the year. A situation born both from the departure of Lewis Hamilton for Ferrari and, above all, from the internal tensions that appeared within his team due to the Horner affair. In the spring, the Dutchman had even clearly put his future in the balance by directly linking it to that of Helmut Marko, who ultimately remained on board.

For several months, despite a fourth title being played out on the track and which Max Verstappen managed to conquer, there was talk of a departure. And among those who publicly tried to lure him out was Mercedes. In the end, none of that happened, and the four-time world champion today explains why, while being very relaxed about not ruling out any scenario for the future.

“Generally speaking in Formula 1, it doesn’t happen very often that someone comes out of their contract”he points out in an end-of-season interview given to Viaplay in the Netherlands. “It’s not like in football, where you sign for five years and leave a year later. In a way, that doesn’t happen very often in Formula 1. And that’s not the case. That’s not really the goal.”

“It’s not my intention, but you never know what might happen next year or in two years. You can’t control that either, so I don’t really think about it. I’m very happy to ‘to be where I am. We have won one more title Of course, we have to improve the car, but I find it very logical. I feel good with the team, I can be myself. works hard to always give me the best material From this point on. From the point of view, I have nothing to complain about.”

“The top teams are always interesting but on the other hand, I am also in a very big team. I have achieved a lot of things with them, I feel like I am in my second family there. can therefore not be taken into consideration very quickly. It’s not like I wake up one morning and say to myself ‘next year, it’s over’. And I’m not someone who changes my mind. very quickly. You really need to think about this kind of thing. very carefully when we want to do it.”

A “frank and open” dialogue with Wolff

Asked about Toto Wolff’s interest in him in the hope of convincing him to join Mercedes, Max Verstappen hides nothing and appears very comfortable there too.

“You want to have the fastest driver in your car”he points out. “And obviously there was a lot going on at home. They had to make a choice to get a new driver. […] Of course, we still talk, and I’m not lying about the fact that we met either. This is not a problem in itself. But at the end of the day, I really love where I am.”

“We’ve had very constructive discussions. I think everyone has always been very frank and open with each other. But I’m also very loyal to my team and I feel at home there. so not much to do at the moment I’m still very young, a lot can still happen in the future.”

Inevitably, the approaches taken by Mercedes and Toto Wolff have sometimes upset Christian Horner, director of Red Bull, and Max Verstappen considers this reaction understandable.

“It’s not pleasant when we talk about someone who is in another team”he slips. “I understand both sides. They [Mercedes] try to talk to me but on the other hand, my team doesn’t like talking about me in the press too much. I understand both sides and I completely understand Christian’s reaction.”

A reflection that goes beyond the framework of F1

Fully focused on defending his title in 2025, which promises to be tricky in the face of tight and tough competition, Max Verstappen above all makes it clear that his choices for the future are conditioned by projects that go beyond Formula 1. , and that this will weigh in the balance when signing his next contract.

“For me, it’s not just Formula 1”he insists. “After that, I also want to do a lot of things and I’m thinking about it. Who are the right partners for that? Yes, these are things I’m thinking about, but I don’t necessarily have to make a decision about it now.”

“I have several goals after Formula 1: endurance, my own team… There are a lot of things at stake. And you need a program for that. Who to do it with? These are of course conversations that I have too. […] Red Bull obviously does a lot of things outside of Formula 1. So I keep all options open and in the end I will choose what I think is best.”