Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies has offered fresh reassurance over Max Verstappen’s future during the team’s home weekend at the Austrian Grand Prix, firmly dismissing growing speculation that the four-time Formula 1 World Champion could be preparing an early departure.
Although Max Verstappen remains under contract with Red Bull until the end of the 2028 season, his agreement includes performance-related exit clauses that could allow him to leave before then under certain circumstances. After dominating Formula 1 with four consecutive world titles between 2021 and 2024, the Dutch driver narrowly missed out on a fifth championship in 2025. However, Red Bull has struggled to adapt to Formula 1’s new technical regulations in 2026 and currently sits fourth in the Constructors’ Championship.
Laurent Mekies: “Max Verstappen wants to stay”
Speaking in Austria, Laurent Mekies revealed that Max Verstappen has made his intentions clear to the team and remains fully committed to the project: “Max Verstappen has made it clear to us that he wants to continue with the team. It’s equally clear that he needs a fast car to be happy at Red Bull.”
According to the former Ferrari sporting director, the Dutchman has always demanded a competitive package and continues to place complete trust in the team to return to winning ways in both the short and long term.
“Max wants a fast car. He’s always wanted a fast car, and he fully trusts us to do everything possible.”
Austria updates are only the beginning
For its home race, Red Bull introduced a significant upgrade package on the RB22, with the team viewing it as a crucial step towards reducing the performance gap to its rivals.
Laurent Mekies explained that more progress would still be required despite the importance of the latest developments: “We know perfectly well that we still need to take further steps. This weekend is a very important one as we try to move much closer and fight for stronger positions.”
However, he also warned against expecting immediate results: “That doesn’t mean everything will be solved this weekend. It means we’ll need some time to fully understand and optimise the package. It’s a very large update.”
Red Bull’s objective is to close the gap gradually over the coming races: “We hope to leave this weekend within two or three tenths of the front. Considering the number of races still remaining, that would already represent significant progress. That’s what matters most right now—continuing to close the gap race after race.”
Performance remains the priority
Laurent Mekies also stressed that discussions regarding Max Verstappen’s future are not influenced by the timing of the team’s upgrades.
“Max knows very well how long it takes for a Formula 1 team to recover a one-second deficit to the competition.”
The Red Bull team principal added that he does not constantly seek reassurance from his star driver regarding his long-term commitment.
“I’m not asking Max every week whether he’s going to stay.”
Instead, Max Verstappen continues to play an active role in Red Bull’s development programme, taking part in extensive testing and technical analysis throughout race weekends, including during Friday morning’s FP1 session in Austria: For Laurent Mekies, the team’s attention remains focused entirely on improving on-track performance.
“We look at the results on the track. That’s the only thing that matters, and we hope those results improve quickly.”
The message from the Red Bull team principal could hardly have been clearer: “His contract isn’t the topic for us. The only topic is getting the car back to where we want it to be.”
With Max Verstappen continuing to work closely alongside the engineers to identify the best development direction for the RB22, Laurent Mekies believes the Dutchman remains fully committed to Red Bull’s long-term project despite the ongoing speculation surrounding his future.
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