27 June 2024 , 13:18
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Max Verstappen has given his strongest hint yet that he will stay with Red Bull despite ongoing interest from Mercedes.
Toto Wolff has been trying for months to convince the Dutchman to defect to his team. The Mercedes chief needs someone to replace Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton and internal problems at Red Bull emboldened the Austrian to publicly woo the defending champion.
Recently, Mercedes-Benz chief executive Ola Kallenius got in on the act by suggesting Verstappen would "look good in silver". But despite their best efforts, at no point has it ever looked likely that the 26-year-old would consider switching for 2025.
And yet, the subject continues to persist. Verstappen was again asked about it ahead of this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix and was given the opportunity to "close the matter by saying he will stay with Red Bull 100 percent".
Interestingly, he did not do that, but he did reply: "Naturally of course people are talking, but it's most important just that we have a very competitive car for the future. At the moment, of course, it's very tight, but we are working very well as a team to try to improve more.
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"For sure, I said this already with the team, we are working and focusing also on next year to try and be competitive again." And he repeated that final sentence as he used it to suggest that he is not at all thinking about the prospect of racing elsewhere after a follow-up question came his way.
Asked if he would consider leaving if Red Bull do not have the quickest car on the F1 grid, Verstappen said: "I don't think that's how Formula 1 works where then suddenly you can say, 'Well, bye guys'. It's not how it works.
"I have a long contract with the team, I'm very happy where I'm at and, like I said before, we are focusing also already on next year with things that we can implement on the car. So I guess that should say enough of where I'm driving next year."
Verstappen has a contract until the end of the 2028 season which should make his place one of the most secure on the F1 grid. But Mirror Sport understands his ally Helmut Marko worked to insert a clause into his contract which would allow the driver to leave, should the Austrian ever depart.
That, in effect, provides the Dutchman with a mechanism to get out of his deal whenever he likes, by asking Marko to walk away. While he is happy with Red Bull for now, it remains to be seen whether that will still be the case from 2026 onwards, when the team will be racing with its own engines built in-house for the first time.