Racing
© Morio
Max Verstappen is increasingly talking like a driver who expects to stay at Red Bull, not one preparing an exit, despite the escape-clause speculation around his contract through 2028.
Ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend, Verstappen shut down the noise around his future. “I am feeling good from my side, but I'm saying that there is nothing to say because there is nothing going on,” he said. He then reinforced the point by describing Red Bull as “like a second family” and saying his focus was on understanding the RB22 better and “get back to winning ways.”
That matters because the backdrop to those comments has been one of Red Bull’s hardest campaigns of the Verstappen era. The team went into the summer break winless, and Verstappen’s own position was described across reports as either fourth in the standings or sixth with 109 points. He has made no secret of his frustration either, calling the RB22 a car that has fallen short of expectations and has been tricky to set up and drive.
But the strongest argument for staying is that Red Bull has at least given Verstappen evidence of recovery. After three races, the team was sixth in the constructors’ championship on 16 points and more than a second per lap off the pace at the front. Upgrade packages in Miami and Austria cut that deficit sharply, first by roughly half and then by another couple of tenths, leaving Red Bull several tenths away rather than hopelessly adrift.
That progress has shown up in Verstappen’s results. He finished second in Austria and again in Hungary, and after Budapest he described Red Bull as “definitely on an upward trend.” Even with the car still difficult, those weekends suggested the gap to the front is no longer the kind that makes his long-term position feel unsustainable.
The uncertainty has not disappeared. Verstappen has also been clear that performance remains the central issue, saying he loves racing but is not satisfied with where Red Bull is now. He has spoken critically about the current regulations, and the RB22’s balance problems have not gone away. Across recent weekends, both Verstappen and Isack Hadjar have struggled with a narrow operating window and a car that does not always give drivers confidence.
Still, Red Bull’s internal message is that the team is moving in the right direction rather than falling apart. Verstappen has pushed back on the idea that the organization is in some kind of rebuild, arguing that the structure remains strong and that the process is more about refinement than starting again. He has also made clear that his connection to the team has not changed during a difficult season.
The contract picture points the same way. Verstappen is signed through the end of 2028, and his manager Raymond Vermeulen has repeatedly indicated the intention is to let that deal run. Reports have noted an escape clause that can be activated up to October, but the same reporting has framed it as a safeguard rather than an active plan to leave.
Just as important, the alternatives look thin. Ferrari is effectively locked in with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton. Mercedes is described as satisfied with George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli. McLaren continues to back Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. Aston Martin, after being discussed as a possibility last year, is portrayed as too risky.
That leaves Red Bull with a simple task if it wants to remove the subject entirely: keep turning its recovery into a car that can win again. If the upward trend continues into 2027, Verstappen staying stops looking like a compromise and starts looking like the obvious outcome.