Four-time world champion Max Verstappen signed a contract extension Thursday with Red Bull Racing through 2030, ending speculation about his Formula 1 future.
The 28-year-old driver had been under contract through the end of 2028 in a deal that included performance-based exit clauses, which spawned rumored links with multiple F1 rivals for more than a year.
Verstappen has no wins and two second-place finishes through 11 races this season. Entering this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix, he is sixth in the drivers’ standings (110 points behind Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli) and Red Bull is fourth in the owners’ race.
“I am really pleased with the contract extension,” said Verstappen, who has been with Red Bull since joining its juniors program in 2014.
“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.”
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies was relieved to put fears of Verstappen’s potential departure to rest.
“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,” Mekies said.
“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.”
Verstappen, who won his F1 titles in succession from 2021-24, made his debut with Red Bull in 2015 and has racked up 71 wins, 131 podium finishes and 48 poles in 244 career starts.
The Dutch driver has won the Dutch GP at Zandvoort, Netherlands, three times (2021, 2022 and 2023).
–Field Level Media
