Max Verstappen says he is “pretty fixed” at Red Bull amid speculation over whether he will see out his long-term deal to drive for the team.
The world champion signed a deal three years ago keeping him at the team until 2028. However reports have claimed a clause recently added to his contract allows him to end the deal early if the team’s advisor Helmut Marko leaves.Marko’s position at the team appeared to be in jeopardy during the previous round in Jeddah. However Verstappen said today his preference is to remain at the team.
“I think there’s every reason to be happy,” he told the official F1 channel. “The car is going really well. There’s so many great people in the team that are constantly pushing for for better results.
“That’s what I focus on. I focus on the performance, I’m happy, and when I go home I don’t think about any other thing because it’s pretty fixed where I am. And that’s also where I want to be.”
He heads into this weekend’s race looking to continue his unbeaten run since the new season began. Verstappen said “it’s definitely been the best start so far to a year for me, personally.
“In the car [there’s] just a good balance. But I think also as a team, we operated really well without too many mistakes. So I’m of course very happy with that. and I hope that we can continue that way. We tried to keep on learning what we can do better, but it’s been very positive.”
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Verstappen’s team mate Sergio Perez, whose contract is up for renewal at the end of the year, said he has no such clause in his contract.
“Max, as far as I know, has a contract with with the team and is fully committed with the team and the rest, I think it’s not for me to comment,” he said in today’s FIA press conference. “It’s nothing to do with me.
“I’m focusing on my decisions and what I have to do. And I think for us to be talking about other drivers when we don’t know any facts, I don’t see any point to do so.”
Red Bull has been under fierce scrutiny since the season began as the team’s owners investigated, then cleared, team principal Christian Horner over alleged inappropriate behaviour. Horner denies any wrongdoing but the staff member who brought the complaint is now believed to be appealing against the decision to clear him.
However Perez says the atmosphere within the team is positive and contributing to the performance which has seen them win 24 of the last 25 grands prix.
“I think the team is in a very strong position because with the results we’re currently having, the harmony there is in the team,” he said. “I think to achieve that, it just takes a lot of years, probably.
“Right now the dynamics, everyone in the team is working really well together, the whole engineering group is really united. And you can see that on track and how efficient we’ve been in the last year.
“So I don’t see any reason to change it and it would obviously be a blow for the team if Max were to leave.”
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Nick T.
21st March 2024, 6:31
And so the inevitable backtracking begins…
Max knows better than most of his fans that no matter how good you are, if you don’t have a car within half a second (and even that’s a stretch) of the best car, you have zero chance.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
21st March 2024, 13:22
Yes, I’d say 2-3 tenths max to have a chance.
baasbas
21st March 2024, 15:06
@Nick T.
How is this backtracking again?
Honest question
Nick T.
21st March 2024, 22:42
He threatened to leave if Helmut goes and this question was obviously a reference to that. He’s partly closing the door on that threat with this statement.
baasbas
22nd March 2024, 13:31
@Nick T.
I think there is too much ‘liberal interpretation’ in certain media. I’ve just done another search and from the expected ‘outlets’ you’ll read he did threaten to leave, in capitals. But even shoveling through those garbage articles there is never an actual quote of him saying so. I just can’t find it.
I feel it’s fair to say he publicly stated he very much wants Marko to stay ‘just like all other important members of the team’. But he never said he would go, he never tied his future to the supposed departure of Marko. If you have a source, can you please point it out to me?
Mayrton
21st March 2024, 8:57
In the eye of the beholder maybe. It depends on how big you want to make it. I am sure that besides the press no one is really occupied with these topics. Even if it would lead to some personnel changes.. it’s not like it hasn’t happened before. Teams and leadership change. Time to focus on racing again please.
DB-C90 (@dbradock)
21st March 2024, 9:37
Why would he even consider leaving unless the team collapses when Horner is ultimately pushed out regardless of whether or not he’s done the things he’s been accused of.
Currently in the best managed team, in the best car by far and at the top of his game – I just can’t see him looking to go anywhere.
MichaelN
21st March 2024, 15:21
Because as he noted, he has a strong sense of loyalty to Helmut Marko.
That’s not to say he can’t ever race anywhere without Marko being around. Marko is 80 years old, Verstappen is 26. It’s inevitable that at some point this will happen. But the circumstances matter a lot. If Marko one day steps down and people sing his praises and move on, that’s totally different from Marko being pushed out and then having to work with the people who did that.
Would he walk away from a championship winning car? Maybe. You never really know how far loyalty goes until its put to the test. Sometimes it is much stronger than people who don’t have that sense can imagine. Sometimes it turns out to be not that impressive after all. You can only tell in hindsight.
Charles
21st March 2024, 16:51
Nah.. It’s all about 2026. I can’t predict how Ford and rb will manage and achieve producing a competitive motor, but I’m sure Verstappen knows more about this. You don’t want to sit in this car after this project failed.. Only chance for Verstappen to move this year or Mercedes could choose different driver.. So, driving at front in 2025 and then lonely 5th position drives or investing in a better Mercedes project .. Marko is just a kind of get out of jail card ;)
MichaelN
21st March 2024, 20:43
The 2026 engines are extremely tightly regulated in addition to being ‘dumbed down’ by the removal of the MGU-H. It’s the main reason F1 was able to attract new parties for the first time in over a decade. We’ll have to wait and see, of course, but from the way the regulations are drawn up and have been described by people far more knowledgeable about engines than I am, it seems like the 2026 engines are not going to be the clean break some people want it to be, and probably won’t even be be a notable performance differentiator.
Nick T.
21st March 2024, 22:45
Weak theory, especially with the new regulations and no other team having Newey who is more important than the five best drivers combined.
Jere (@jerejj)
21st March 2024, 10:13
He’d be foolish to voluntarily leave the best-performing team (very possibly also next year).
I simply can’t see him doing so, even if Marko got sacked because his departure ultimately would have zero impact on car performance.
RR
21st March 2024, 12:34
Why would Max tie himself to old man Marko, with a legal clause written into his contract?
Doesn’t make a bit of sense. Neither do his pronouncements regarding Horner in recent weeks. Why jeopardise the very situation that is giving him the chance to continue as champion driving the best car?
It’s baffling.
Keith Campbell (@keithedin)
21st March 2024, 14:07
The clause only gives him an option to leave if Marko does. He can still decide to stay if he wants, so the clause itself is only positive for Max because it gives him the choice (assuming reports are accurate).
MichaelN
21st March 2024, 15:27
Marko has done a lot for Verstappen, and is a big part of the reason why he was put in that Red Bull car.
How far does that loyalty go? We’ll only know in hindsight. Right now Verstappen has been pretty clear that as far as he’s concerned, Marko needs to be at Red Bull.
Konstantinos
21st March 2024, 12:38
Who knows what is happening in the background but as others have said, if he is interested in winning then he would be crazy to leave (unless there is something else happening of course).
That being said I think it’s safe to say that he has established himself as one of the greats, maybe if he is not interested in chasing stats, he might want a new challenge? But I don’t know, that sounds more like a movie version of reality.
Nulla Pax (@nullapax)
21st March 2024, 15:09
I can understand why people would stay where they are safe because they are at the top of the game.
It’s a steady income and you get to be treated like a Hero within that environment.
For me personally that would quickly get boring.
I would rather try to be a Champion in two or three different categories than be a ten time Champ in one category.
Max is one of the finest genuine racers that I have ever seen, and he is still young enough to jump into a new form of motorsport and still have every chance of taking the crown there.
I think the world of Motorsport is truly his oyster, and I would love to see him be bold and set some brand-new records instead of just modifying the F1 stats list.
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
21st March 2024, 16:42
Max would be lucky to win races with any other team. Very lucky. At least as the regs stand right now. The chances of him leaving are next to nothing, unless he wants to cash out.
Osnola
21st March 2024, 19:03
Not so sure about that. I guess max could have won several races in a merc or a ferrari last year.
His skill with tirehandling is from another planet and so is his handling with difficult cars.
Maybe not wdc but at least more then lec and lewis were able to do.
David BR (@david-br)
21st March 2024, 23:17
Total nonsense.
Vulture
22nd March 2024, 2:43
Max is overrated. Look at what he had to do to beat Lewis through 2021.
RatSack
21st March 2024, 21:34
I’m not a Max fan but he is a great driver. I’m fairly sure he could be challenging for wins in a Ferrari and he could possibly win in the Aston at Monte Carlo. This is all assuming whoever replaces him at Red Bull is no better than Perez. I could only see him putting a Merc or McLaren on the podium but not winning. In any case I don’t think walking away from Red Bull would be a total disaster, might add to his reputation given all he has ever done is win in Red Bull, the true greats win with multiple teams.
Gimi
21st March 2024, 18:31
I can see Max leaving in 2026 if the Ford engine is trash, but I don’t see him going to Mercedes instead I my prediction is him going to Ferrari for the classic ‘Everyone is a Ferrari fan’ reason.
David BR (@david-br)
21st March 2024, 23:14
The Marko escape clause basically states what Ricciardo knew: once Max had joined Red Bull, Marko ensured it was Verstappen’s team, while Horner has always (more or less convincingly) declared that he doesn’t favour any or either driver. Imagine Red Bull putting a competitive driver in the other car with no Marko around. That’s the scenario Verstappen (junior and senior) wants to avoid.