One topic dominated the accumulation of British Grand Prix this weekend at Silverstone Paddock during Thursday’s Media Day. The future of Max Verstappen.
As the majority of the media center was packed into Red Bull hospitality for a 10-minute media session with the four-time world champions, there was little room to breathe, let alone watching (or actually listening).
The ocean of journalists flocked Verstappen. He has smashed a barrage of questions surrounding the hottest topics of Formula 1.
Discussions about Verstappen to switch between Mercedes Red Bull, since Mercedes driver George Russell claimed his own contract extension was delayed due to his own contract extension pursuing his rival last week.
More fuel was added to the fire when reports from Italy suggested that Verstappen had “specific negotiations” with Mercedes and even held “yes” to Toto Wolff’s offer.
Lewis Larkam of Crash.Net sums up what he learned from the verstappen of a tight argument willing to leak…
There’s Max Verstappen… somewhere
Verstappen Coy from Red Bull Future
Verstappen didn’t feel like giving up too much as he faced the grill about the future of Red Bull on Thursday.
The Dutch refused to be attracted to the link to Mercedes and insisted that nothing had changed last week as they tried their best to dodge the question.
“Compared to what I said last week, there’s nothing else to add,” Verstappen said.
“We didn’t get great results last week. I don’t think it was a great weekend, but it’s not a bit of a bad luck in general. Of course, I wouldn’t say I’d try McLaren, but I did get decent results.
“Everything I said that week (about my future) is the same. Nothing has changed from my side.”
When asked if the new regulations for F1 in 2026 could tear the form book, Verstappen said, “Yes, that’s why I’m signing with Red Bull.”
Verstappen was less convincing in his response when he was pushed to see if he would drive towards Red Bull next year.
“Like I said last week, that’s all I have to say about it,” he offered. “There are no decisions at this time.
“For me, it’s not ’26, etc. I’m focusing on what I have in front of me (and) working with the team.
“And of course, a lot of people make up the assumption, but I know that’s not me.”
Max Burstappen and George Russell
©XPB Image
Verstappen will not talk about exit clauses
There was a lot of speculation over the details of Verstappen’s performance-related exit clauses. This allows you to leave Red Bull before the contract ends, if certain conditions are met.
The exact details of this have not been published and there are conflicting reports of what is needed to trigger. According to some, Verstappen will need to be outside the top 2, 3 and 4 positions at the World Championships by the end of the summer.
SkySports also reports that a fee “potentially more than £100 million” is required to purchase Verstappen from his existing Red Bull deal.
Naturally, Verstappen simply said, “I’m not talking about the contract,” and he was reluctant to talk about the details of his contract.
F1 Sabbatical has been eliminated
Verstappen was more certain when the sabbatical possibilities from F1 were nurtured.
“No, no, no,” replied Burstappen. “It’s true that F1 and I will try out in the future and combine that with all sorts of races possible.
“Of course, I want to explore a bit from Formula 1. This is because we’ve already done it in testing, but in the end we’re also racing.”
Verstappen asked directly whether F1 sabbatical could be an option.