F1
Verstappen: “I don’t want my career to be marked by switching teams”
Verstappen casts doubt on his future in F1, but showed his loyalty to Red Bull: “I don’t want to be part of four or five different teams.”
When he still had his continuity at Red Bull assured for the 2022 and 2023 seasons, Max Verstappen signed a historic agreement with the Milton Keynes team. The Dutchman was tied to the energy drink team for seven years (until 2028), in the longest contract ever signed by a Formula 1 driver. However, over time, the three-time champion has shown many doubts about his future within the Big Circus.
On paper, Verstappen is here to stay for a while, but during this season he has reiterated on more than one occasion that his days in the World Championship are numbered. Especially because of his disagreement with the race calendar and the latest disagreements he has experienced with the FIA.
What next for Max?
How much longer does Max see himself in the Big Circus? ”My next step, if there is one, will be my last. That could also mean that I renew my current contract. Everything is possible at the moment,” declared the Dutchman on Sky Italia, without giving a definitive answer about a future that he left up in the air again.
Because within his plans, it is not clear that he will comply with the agreement that links him to the energy drink company - nor whether he might decide to extend the relationship to which he will be faithful until the end. Because the only certainty for Verstappen is that he will not leave the Red Bull garage... at least for the moment.
Could Verstappen back out of his contract with Red Bull before 2028?
Max’s scepticism returns when it comes to discussing whether he has a clause in his contract that could allow him to leave Red Bull before 2028: “Maybe yes, maybe no...” But when it comes to his relationship with the Milton Keynes team, he has no doubts: “I have been part of this team for a long time. Ultimately, all the drivers in the paddock want to win. It’s very easy to change teams, but I do not want my career to be marked in that way. I don’t want to be part of four or five different teams.”
From that we can gather that the possibility of Verstappen embarking on a project with Aston Martin or Mercedes seem remote.
The instability of recent times within Red Bull has not been a pleasant experience for anyone, but despite everything Verstappen will continue to trust those who gave him the chance to begin building his legend in Formula 1. The Dutchman began the adventure in 2015 with Toro Rosso (current RB and Red Bull subsidiary team) and his only intention is to build a long and stable relationship with all the members of the team to feel at home somewhere.
“Changing teams is not my thing and it is not something I want to do at this stage of my career,” insists Max, looking to a future that now, with the World Championship at stake, is his least concern: “It’s not something I am thinking about right now either because there are many things I want to do better this year and everything that comes in the future is still a long way off,” he ended.