(Miami Gardens) The day after the announcement Of the departure of engineer Adrian Newey, triple Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen insisted that he would not leave the Red Bull team, Thursday before the Miami Grand Prix .
Published at 7:20 p.m.
“For now, my future is at Red Bull,” said the Dutchman, who is under contract with the Austrian team until the end of 2028, during a press briefing.
Rumors of Verstappen’s departure have swelled in recent weeks since the internal war shaking the team came to light in February after accusations of “inappropriate behavior” towards an employee aimed at director Christian Horner, who has since been cleared by an internal investigation.
The departure of Newey, the great architect of the success of Red Bull, where he has been responsible since 2006 with six constructors’ and seven drivers’ world titles, would be linked to this power struggle according to the BBC and this has reignited the rumors on the future of the Dutch prodigy, who is in conflict with Horner.
Verstappen also denied the rumor of an offer from Mercedes, which would have offered him 150 million euros annually to secure his services.
“Even if that were the case, 150 million… Money is not the criterion for me to go somewhere. I am satisfied with what I already earn. What matters is performance. Because I know that if I run for 5e or the 6e “I’m going to get grumpy,” he said.
The Dutchman also tried to minimize the consequences of Newey’s departure, which nevertheless constitutes a hard blow for Red Bull.
“Of course, Adrian has had an extremely important role in Red Bull’s success. But over time his role has changed a bit and I think a lot of people don’t understand what he does today. I’m not saying he doesn’t do anything, but his role has evolved. Many competent people have joined the team and strengthened it,” he argued in front of a swarm of journalists.
“Obviously, I would have preferred him to stay, because we can always rely on his experience. But I am convinced that the rest of the technical team is very, very strong,” he added.
Despite the heavy atmosphere within the team this season, Red Bull continues to crush the competition as in the previous two years. Verstappen has indeed won four of the first five Fl Grands Prix and leads the championship with 25 points ahead of his Mexican teammate Sergio Pérez.
