Formula 1 News: Verstappen ‘clearly’ staying at Red Bull – Coronel
(GMM) A Formula 1 expert who is close to Max Verstappen (pictured) thinks the Dutchman is definitely staying put at Red Bull next year.
The quadruple world champion effectively ruled out his 2025 title chances last time out in Barcelona, where he was penalized by the FIA for his apparently deliberate crash into George Russell.
Some speculated that Verstappen is actually trying to trigger a contract exit clause in order to switch to Mercedes or Aston Martin for 2026.
Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko dismissed it as “nonsense”.
“For one thing, he could do it much more discreetly than that,” he told Kleine Zeitung newspaper.
Indeed, 27-year-old Verstappen arrived in Canada in a much better mood, and he even snapped back at a reporter who named and shamed a team member for making the key strategy error that triggered the late-race chaos in Barcelona.
“Since Jonathan Wheatley went, obviously you have Stephen Knowles who is doing it now,” Sky UK reporter Ted Kravitz told Verstappen.
Verstappen snapped back: “I think it’s not really nice to try and single out a person, because that’s never the case.
“I think we just look at it as a team, what we always can do better, and that’s also how we look at it in Barcelona. It’s not fair to now single out one single person.”
Tom Coronel, a Dutch racing driver who knows Verstappen well, thinks Verstappen’s defense of the team is a clear indication that he is definitely staying in 2026.
“I see that Max has made his choice, and that is why he is standing up for Red Bull,” Coronel told Viaplay.
“He is not looking for another team. You can clearly see that he is staying with Red Bull.”
According to another pundit, however, there is another possibility.
When asked what car Verstappen will be racing in 2026, Niki Lauda’s son Mathias told Osterreich: “Wow, that’s difficult.
“I don’t think even Max knows yet. I can even imagine him saying ‘I’m taking a year off – I want to enjoy my new baby and spend more time at home’.”
Lauda continued: “During this time, he can take a look at who has the best package under the new regulations and choose a cockpit that will put him in contention for the title again.
“A year off would certainly do him good.”
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George Russell says progress over a fresh Mercedes Formula 1 contract has been put aside as the team focuses on improving its fortunes in 2025, but has “no concerns” about the team potentially pursuing Max Verstappen.
“No real conversations to be honest because we’ve got bigger fish to fry at the moment, which is making our car go faster,” Russell explained on Thursday in Montreal.
“I know I’m going to be in Formula 1 next year. My intention and goal is to stay with Mercedes and I think that’s very much the intention of Toto as well.
“To be honest, there’s no real reason for either of us to deviate.”
It means that Mercedes is, whether by accident or by design, keeping its options open – which Russell himself acknowledged during the media day in Canada.
“It’s understandable, the likes of Max have always been on the radar because why wouldn’t he be on the radar? He’s one of the GOATs and I get that,” offered Russell.
“But then it’s down to you to prove your worth. And I feel I’ve done that time and time again over the course of seven years in F1 and my whole career. So I’ve got no concerns.”