Max Verstappen addresses Red Bull future and Helmut Marko exit
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen on the podium after winning the 2025 Italian Grand Prix
Max Verstappen declared that, as it stands, he is committed to seeing out his Red Bull contract, which runs until the end of 2028.
Reiterating that he will not be a Formula 1 driver at 40, Verstappen teased that “even MotoGP” could become part of his plans for after F1 racing life. Verstappen also admitted that he will “miss” Helmut Marko not being by his side in F1 2026, following his departure from Red Bull.
Max Verstappen wants to fulfil Red Bull contract
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Verstappen may have fallen two points short of a fifth straight World Championship in F1 2025, but if anything, his stock was only raised further by his performances.
From 104 points behind after the Dutch Grand Prix, Verstappen went on a run of making the podium at every round following the summer break, including winning six grands prix.
Verstappen was voted the best driver of F1 2025 by his fellow racers, and the team principals.
When Red Bull and Verstappen hit a performance rut in mid-2025, speculation returned linking Verstappen with a Mercedes move. He eventually reaffirmed his commitment to Red Bull, but if the team does not prove a leading outfit in F1 2026 – a year of sweeping changes while Red Bull Ford is to debut its engine – the rumours could return.
“I’m 28 now and I have a contract with Red Bull until 2028. I want to fulfil that contract,” Verstappen declared to respected Swiss publication Blick.
“At this point in time, I’m ruling out a change of team.”
Adapting to the new chassis regulations, and sending that first engine into action, is not the only difference which Red Bull will notice going into F1 2026.
Helmut Marko, the team’s senior advisor and driver programme boss since it joined the grid in 2005, opted to step down following the 2025 campaign.
It was Marko who led the charge to put Verstappen on the F1 grid at only 17 years of age, a huge risk at the time for which he was rewarded handsomely.
“It’s a shame that my friend and mentor Helmut Marko won’t be at my side in 2026,” Verstappen stated.
“I’ll miss him.”
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Returning to his comments on his Red Bull contract, it was put to Verstappen that it sounds like he will not still be racing in Formula 1 at 40, a club currently populated by Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.
“You can bet on it,” Verstappen confirmed.
“At 40, I might still be standing in the pits as team principal in another series.”
Verstappen is already active outside of Formula 1 with his GT3 team, which has switched to Mercedes machinery for 2026 in a multi-year deal.
Verstappen competed in multiple GT3 events at the Nurburgring last year, bagging ‘Ring Licence’ ahead of a potential 2026 Nürburgring 24 Hours tilt.
“I enjoy adventures like that,” Verstappen confirmed. “Because at some point, Formula 1 will no longer be an option for me – but other races will be.
“Even MotoGP can get me excited.”
Verstappen will have a new Red Bull teammate for F1 2026, as Isack Hadjar steps up following an impressive rookie season with Racing Bulls.
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