Max Verstappen will remain a Red Bull driver for F1 2026, the speculation of a move to Mercedes having fallen silent.
And with new regulations on the way for F1 2026, Verstappen’s target is for he and Red Bull to be “competitive from the start” by “nailing” the revamped rules.
It is all change next season, as new chassis and engine regulation arrive. The cars will become smaller and 30kg lighter, as DRS bows out and active aerodynamics take over. In addition, the Pirelli tyres will become 25 millimeters narrower at the front and 30mm for the rears.
Meanwhile, new engines will be introduced to power the redesigned cars. They will feature a 50/50 split between electrical power and an internal combustion engine running on fully sustainable biofuels.
Red Bull is a particularly interesting player in Formula 1’s new era, as they have created their own engine for the first time, working in partnership with Ford.
Verstappen had been heavily linked with a move to Mercedes in the latest F1 ‘silly season’, but that did not come to pass, Verstappen remaining loyal to Red Bull.
When asked by media, including PlanetF1.com, ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix, if he could confirm himself as a Red Bull F1 2026 driver, Verstappen replied: “Yeah.
“It’s quite interesting to follow all that, the amount of nice stories certainly that came out of it.
“But for me, I’ve never really said anything about it because I was just focused on talking to the team about how we can improve our performance, future ideas for next year as well, and that’s why I have nothing really to add ever.
“But I think it’s time to basically stop all the rumours and, for me, it’s always been quite clear that I was staying anyway.
“I think that was also the general feeling in the team anyway, because we were always in discussions about what we could do with the car.
“I think when you’re not interested in staying then you also stop talking about these kind of things – and I never did.”
The last time the engine formula changed was in 2014, as Mercedes began a streak of eight consecutive Constructors’ Championship wins.
But, Verstappen’s ambition for he and Red Bull is to be right up at that sharp end of the grid in F1 2026.
“I’m very focused on ’26 with the team, to look ahead and make sure that we nail the regulations, and that we are competitive from the start,” he declared to the Formula 1 website.
“The team has gone from of course winning championships before I arrived, to when I arrived, a bit through a rebuilding phase, and then we really hit the peak again of winning championships.
“Now I feel like [it’s] slight rebuilding. We’re still of course a very strong team, but I do think that to make again a step up, there’s slight rebuilding or restructuring maybe, and understanding a little bit more what’s going on, and that of course takes a little bit of time, but hopefully not too much time.
“I think that’s also a bit the mentality of the team [to fight back from a dip], it’s always been like that, so I’m not too worried about that.”
The Verstappen to Mercedes speculation had been fuelled by a performance-related exit clause in Verstappen’s Red Bull contract. It is believed that had he been fourth or lower in the Drivers’ Championship standings at the summer break, he would have been able to trigger it.
Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko believes it makes sense for Verstappen to stay and observe how they start out in F1’s new era. The outcome could then play a big role in what Verstappen decided to do from there.
“I don’t know what considerations he made, personally and with his management, but it was clear from his statements that he wanted to stay,” Marko said of Verstappen to F1-Insider.
“Even if the escape clause had come into effect… Nobody knows what the situation will be like in 2026.
“Mercedes declares itself the favourite, but there is no evidence.
“Also in terms of chassis, you don’t know who will hit the jackpot. There is a lot of uncertainty.
“From his perspective, it makes much more sense to stay, wait and see.
“If it turns out next year that we are not competitive, he can always reconsider his decision.”
