After weeks of speculation and rumor, Max Verstappen has made it official.
He is staying at Red Bull for the 2026 Formula 1 season.
In recent weeks, reports of Verstappen making a shocking move to Mercedes emerged in the F1 world, with Italian media outlets indicating that the switch was nearing completion. Those rumors were given some fuel when Toto Wolff admitted that there were “conversations” taking place, and the dismissal of Christian Horner as Red Bull Team Principal added yet another wrinkle.
Add in the expectations that Mercedes may be on the front foot when the 2026 regulations arrive, and you have the potential for such a move.
But Verstappen made it clear on Thursday ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix that he is staying with the team next season.
“I’ve never really said anything about it because I was just focused on talking to the team about how we can improve our performance, future ideas for next year as well, and that’s why I had nothing really to add,” he said to the media at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
“But I think it’s time to basically stop all the rumors, and for me it’s always been quite clear that I was staying anyway.”
“I think that was also the general feeling in the team anyway, because we were always in discussions about what we could do with the car. And when you’re not interested in staying, then you also stop talking about these kind of things – and I never did.”
Verstappen currently sits third in the F1 Drivers’ Championship standings with 185 points, behind second-place Lando Norris and championship leader Oscar Piastri.
He is also on his longest podium drought since 2019, as he has now gone three races without a top-three finish.
Which, more than anything else, speaks to his brilliance as a driver, why Mercedes wanted him in the fold, and why Red Bull was hoping to keep him with the team.
