Will Max Verstappen stay at Red Bull or not?
Helmut Marko has changed his mind about the possibility that Max Verstappen might be tempted by offers from Aston Martin or Mercedes and leave Red Bull as early as 2026. This concern had been explicitly expressed by the Anglo-Austrian team advisor a few weeks ago, but it has now subsided, partly because the RB21 has proven to be competitive—it has secured three pole positions in six races, even though further improvement is expected especially in race pace—and partly because, despite the arrival of Adrian Newey, Aston Martin is currently one of the worst-performing cars on the grid.
Helmut Marko is no longer worried
“My concerns about Max Verstappen leaving? They’ve already decreased,” Helmut Marko told the German newspaper Bild. “Max is very loyal and he has also publicly committed to Red Bull. That’s how I see it at the moment. He’s fully focused on his work here, and for that reason I don’t think he’s thinking about a change. On the contrary, I am convinced that Max Verstappen will race for Red Bull in 2026 as well.”
Marko also addressed the rumors regarding the massive offer Aston Martin allegedly made to Max Verstappen to reunite the winning trio with Adrian Newey and Honda: “Yes, I’ve read that too. But I don’t believe money plays a decisive role for Max. It’s true that he doesn’t earn that much with us, but on the other hand, he primarily wants to win. That’s why we have to give him a faster car. We’re working on it, and there will be some upgrades to the car soon.”
“Before the season,” the 82-year-old former Austrian driver concluded, “we talked about our expectations for the 2025 F1 World Championship. Everyone at Red Bull, including Max Verstappen, agreed that the goal was to defend the title—but we cannot take that for granted. We’ll do everything possible to achieve the result, but no one can expect that it’s possible to win all the time.”
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