Max Verstappen has a message for anyone waiting for him to walk away from Red Bull: don’t expect it soon.
The four-time world champion sat down with BBC Sport ahead of the Italian Grand Prix and made his position clear. He signed a two-year contract extension with Red Bull. In theory, that runs to the end of 2030. In reality, it changes little — the deal still has performance conditions. Verstappen is earning more money, but if the car stays slow next year, the door remains open.
That is the part that matters. Verstappen is not blind to where Red Bull stand. He said the team are “not in a title fight.” He said the car is “not where I want it to be feeling-wise.” He said changes “need to happen to the car for next year.” And yet he stayed.
What Is Wrong With the Car
Verstappen did not soften the state of the car. Asked what exactly is wrong with it, he gave a direct answer.
“Overall we’re just lacking a bit of performance. The car is not where I want it to be feeling-wise, and the through-corner balance is too hit and miss between entry, mid and exit.”
He called it “fundamentally something in the car” that the team need to work on for next year. This is not a new complaint. The theme has run for longer than this season, and it now spans two sets of rules. Verstappen acknowledged the worry.
“That’s exactly that. There’s also things that we talk about within the team, like how can that happen, how can we fix it? That’s basically what we are doing now and trying to do now.”
He pointed to staff changes as part of the answer. “Some people have left, new people have come in. With the new people, we are discussing what we can do about it. Is that just some changes, a different philosophy? All these kind of things.”
The honesty is striking. Verstappen is known for straight talking, but this interview, conducted in the mid-30Cs heat, found him at his most firm. His PR handler even suggested finding a table near a fan before he arrived, hoping the interview might be more positive that way. Verstappen arrived, adjusted the fan, and said: “It’s too hot in here.”
Why He Signed
The obvious question is why Verstappen would commit to a team that cannot give him a winning car right now. His answer was about loyalty, not logic.
“It comes down to also feeling well within a team. This is like a second family to me.”
He spoke about the belief that Red Bull can turn things around. He spoke about building “towards hopefully a better future with other people, new people.” And he pointed beyond Formula 1.
“At the end of the day, it’s not only Formula 1 for me. There are a lot of things that I’m doing next year that Red Bull is involved in as well. I feel good here. So this, for me, is the right place to be.”
Did Red Bull have to work hard to convince him? Not really. Verstappen said he told them not to worry.
“I always said to them: ‘Don’t stress about it, just work on the car.’ Because the faster the car goes, the easier the decision is anyway.”
He admitted the team may have worried at times. “I can understand, of course, maybe sometimes they were a little bit worried. But at the same time, for me, I was just worried about here, what was going on.”
He was also busy outside F1. “So I never really spent a lot of time talking or doing different things or trying to go somewhere else.”
Captain of the Ship
From the outside, it is hard to see what Red Bull could have said to convince him things will improve. Verstappen’s answer was about identity.
“I don’t mind the challenge also. I don’t have that desire or need to show in another car that I can win it, or whatever.”
He rejected the easy path. “It’s easy to run to the fastest car and then do it all again. But it’s not how I am. You cannot be the captain of the ship and as soon as there is something not working, you jump off the ship.”
He acknowledged the team’s fall. “It’s been a bit downwards from the dominant years, but I don’t mind also rebuilding it. It’s another challenge as well.”
That is the sound of a driver who sees himself as part of the project, not a passenger in it. The current hard times are a new kind of test.
Talks With McLaren and Mercedes
Verstappen confirmed he has had conversations with other teams. He talked to Mercedes last year. He talked to McLaren this year. How serious were they?
“Of course, any kind of chat you take seriously. They’re all very respectful chats. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
But he said staying was the right choice. “You have to follow your heart. I could have run away very early on in my Red Bull career and gone somewhere else to try and win. If you have a little bit of patience, you do end up winning. I feel like that’s my approach now as well.”
Verstappen did not wave off the discussions, but he made clear they did not change his mind.
The Nordschleife High
If the season on track has been frustrating, there was one moment Verstappen loved. Asked which race he enjoyed most this year, he did not pick a Grand Prix.
“Probably the Nordschleife [Nurburgring 24 Hours]. It was super-cool to be able to do an endurance event with my team-mates, the guys that won with the car throughout the main season.”
He appeared at the Nurburgring 24 Hours in May. The result did not go his way.
“We knew that we were going to be really strong. We peaked at the right time, but unfortunately the car retired. It was an incredible experience. And pure. Pure motorsport.”
His first stint was the talk of the event. He went from 10th to first in hard conditions.
“I was enjoying it. Not easy conditions. It started to drizzle. The track was slippery. Crashes. Code 60s [when a stretch of track is limited to 60km/h after an incident].”
Some doubted he could handle the pressure of endurance racing. Verstappen had a simple answer.
“Some people were like: ‘Let’s see how he will do in the race under pressure with all these kinds of scenarios that he has never done before.’ But I have done them a million times on the simulator. I have done so many laps and 24-hour races on the simulator. I never felt out of depth or whatever. I was fully zoned in. I just had a great time.”
He added: “Once I was in the race, you switch to another level.”
Engine Rules
Verstappen also spoke about the new Formula 1 engine rules. It is no secret he has a problem with them.
What Happens Next
Red Bull are not where they want to be. Verstappen said the team are “trying to just learn and understand a lot of things for next year.” They are not in a title fight. They are “just trying to find more performance.”
The plan is simple: gather learnings this year, apply them next year. Verstappen knows the car cannot be fixed mid-season. “We will not be able to change that for this year, but we just need to try and get a lot of learnings to do better next year.”
He is clear-eyed about the size of the task. The problems are deep. The fixes will take time. But he has chosen to be part of that process, not to run from it.
| Team | Year of Talks | Verstappen’s Position |
|---|---|---|
| Mercedes | Last year | Respectful chats, but he stayed |
| McLaren | This year | Respectful chats, but he stayed |
| Red Bull | Current | Signed extension through 2030 |
The Patience Test
There is a pattern to Verstappen’s career. He is a four-time world champion. He sees the current situation as a test of patience. The loyalty that marked his early years is still there.
“I could have run away very early on in my Red Bull career and gone somewhere else to try and win. If you have a little bit of patience, you do end up winning.”
That is the calculation now. Verstappen believes the rebuild will work. He believes the new people coming into the team will make a difference. He believes he is in the right place.
The Bottom Line
Verstappen is staying at Red Bull for now. He said it plainly, in his own words, in the heat of Monza.
He is staying to fix the problem. He is staying to be the captain of the ship. He is staying because, as he put it, “I feel good here.”
The car is not good enough. The season is not going as planned. The talks with McLaren and Mercedes were real. None of that changed his mind.
Verstappen has made his choice. The performance clauses mean the door is not shut. But the work begins now.
Source: bbc.co.uk
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