The reigning Formula One world champion is sticking it out with Red Bull.
Max Verstappen will remain with his lifelong team through the 2026 season after clearing an exit clause following the Belgian Grand Prix, ESPN’s Nate Saunders reported Monday.
Rumours of the four-time reigning champ potentially leaving Red Bull had grown recently, as Mercedes boss Toto Wolff confirmed his team’s interest in signing the Dutch superstar.
Though he’s under contract until 2028, a clause in Verstappen’s contract allowed him to opt out of the deal should he sit in fourth or worse in the drivers’ championship as F1 heads into the summer break.
However, Verstappen is currently sitting in third at 185 points, and it’s mathematically impossible for fourth-place driver George Russell (157 points) to catch him before the Hungarian Grand Prix in August — the last race before the break.
Red Bull has had a share of drama this season, with the team’s car a step below that of McLaren’s — Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, the two McLaren drivers, hold the top two spots in the drivers’ championship — and their sacking of long-time team principal Christian Horner earlier in July.
Verstappen did mention that he doubted the decision to fire Horner would impact his future with the team.
The 27-year-old has been part of Red Bull’s system for the entirety of his F1 career, debuting with the team as a 17-year-old with Toro Rosso in 2015. He moved over to the Red Bull Racing side in 2016 and won his first driver’s championship in 2021, edging out Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton.