F1
Verstappen pledges loyalty to Red Bull: “The key people are staying”
The Dutchman is assessing his own role at Red Bull following the departures of Newey and Wheatley, to whom he sent a message: “Loyalty is very important.”
“If you look at our last few races where we haven’t particularly been the fastest, I wouldn’t say that with 10 places extra we have a chance of winning,” Max Verstappen admitted ahead of last month’s Belgian Grand Prix. The Dutchman has gone four races without a win: Austria, Great Britain, Hungary and Belgium – figures not seen since the 2020 season.
Even so, the Red Bull driver is 78 points ahead of second-placed Lando Norris in the drivers’ championship. Adrian Newey and Jonathan Wheatley have confirmed that they are leaving the Austrian team. In 2026, there is a change in the regulations in Formula 1, with the introduction of new power units.
Red Bull will partner with Ford to create the engine. Verstappen says: “We have to fight against people who have been making engines for over a hundred years. They have a lot of experience, but of course we have also signed a lot of people.”
Another four years with Red Bull
Verstappen’s contract with the Milton Keynes-based team runs until 2028, but there are rumours of a possible switch of teams for the Dutchman. The 26-year-old told Formula.hu: “I think the most important thing is that you shouldn’t make decisions based on emotions, because that always backfires. I’m a patient person as well, I don’t worry too much about things. Of course, it means a lot and I appreciate that my relationship with the team goes back a long way. Loyalty is very important and I don’t think it’s always there in F1. It is, but luckily in my case it’s a given and I think it’s mutual for us.”
In 2026, the new regulations in Formula 1 will start. Verstappen says: “The key people are staying with the team and we now have our own engine project. How is it going? I have a lot of faith in it, but we have to be realistic.”
The Dutchman also gave his opinion on the new rules that will be introduced in the top category of motorsport: “I’m more in the middle and say: ‘Let’s wait and see what happens’. It was the same for me with the current rules, I was looking to see if this would be good or bad. Fortunately for me, it turned out very well because the team became competitive, but with the new rules, you never know....”
Verstappen: “We have a bad time everywhere”
In recent races, Red Bull has not had the fastest car on the grid. Verstappen offered a reason: “At first, I could really say that this situation was track-specific, but I think it’s now clear – no matter which circuit we go to, we have a hard time everywhere.”
He continued: “The situation is not that bad, but we also have to try to improve the performance of the car so that we can try to defend ourselves and dictate the pace again.”
The Red Bull driver concluded, “The others are doing a good job of improving the performance of the car, but of course we have to point out that we are still leading the constructors’ standings.” The Austrian team is in first place with 408 points. Second is McLaren with 366 and third is Ferrari with 345.