Max Verstappen has signed a contract extension with Red Bull until the end of 2030, ending speculation about the four-time world champion’s Formula One future.
The 28-year-old already had a contract with Red Bull until the end of 2028, but performance-related clauses were believed to have offered him a potential exit if the team failed to meet his expectations.
Such clauses were believed to have been triggered this season, according to Dutch media reports.
Red Bull are fourth in the constructors’ championship this season, while Verstappen is sixth in the drivers’ standings, 110 points behind Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli after 11 races.
The Dutch driver is preparing for his home Grand Prix this weekend.
Linked To Mercedes And McLaren
Verstappen had been linked in media reports to both McLaren and championship leaders Mercedes.
McLaren have also signed Verstappen’s race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, from 2028 at the latest.
“I am really pleased with the contract extension,” Verstappen, who joined Red Bull’s junior programme in 2014 and has won all his titles with the team, said in a team statement.
“We have the best people and I’m excited to keep working together with everyone to get back to the top again. This remains the ultimate goal that all of us have been working towards and will continue to pursue.
“I have always said it: The team is like a second family for me and I feel very at home … to continue this journey with the same Team that I have been with my whole career is really special and something I have always wanted to do.”
Team boss Laurent Mekies said very few partnerships in sport had achieved what Verstappen and Red Bull had, adding that the extension was rooted in trust.
“Since the very beginning, Max has embodied everything that makes Oracle Red Bull Racing special: uncompromising competitiveness, relentless determination and the courage to challenge convention,” said the Frenchman.
“His impact on our team and on Red Bull’s motorsport story has been transformational, and he has been fundamental to everything we have accomplished together.
“But we are not done yet. There are more races to win, more milestones to achieve and more history to write.”
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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