Verstappen on why he stuck with Red Bull for 2026 F1 season

Speaking to reporters on Thursday in Budapest, ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix, the four-time F1 World Champion made his position clear: “I think it’s time to stop all the rumours. For me, it was always quite clear that I was staying.”

Verstappen revealed that internally, there was never any sign he was looking elsewhere. “That was the general feeling in the team,” he said. “We are always in discussion about what we could do with the car, and when you’re not staying, you stop talking about these kinds of things. And I never did.”

The Dutchman dismissed the ongoing speculation as unfounded: “Nice stories came out. I never said anything about it. I was only talking to the team about how to improve our performance and future ideas for next year. When you’re not interested in staying, you stop talking about the future. And I never stopped.”

With Formula 1 set to enter a new engine era in 2026, and Red Bull building its own power unit following the Honda split, Verstappen acknowledged the unknowns ahead, but made it clear his priorities lie on track.

He said: “No one knows where they’ll be next year. I’m more interested in working on performance. I never talk about what’s in my contract. For me, I had nothing to add or say.”

Verstappen confirmed he is already involved in shaping Red Bull’s future car: “There is still a lot to learn this year. You can always take things forward, on the engineering side, the car still has to be built. There are obvious things we’re working on already for 2026.”

As Red Bull continues to battle McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes this season, Verstappen acknowledged his team’s current limitations. “This year, it’s going to be very difficult to fight McLaren. They keep the tyres nicer, especially in the wet. Their medium-speed performance is incredible. We have to try to achieve that.”

Still, the Dutch ace sees value in pushing development even without dominating: “There are still a lot of opportunities to learn more about the car and its behaviour.”

Verstappen also welcomed the arrival of new Red Bull team boss Laurent Mekies, saying: “I like the way Laurent is working, asking the right questions to me and to the team. This year it’s difficult to see the effect of his touch, but in the coming years I’m very excited to see his input.”

Looking past 2026, Verstappen hinted again at his desire to compete in endurance racing once his Formula 1 career concludes: “After Formula 1, I’d like to look at endurance. I prefer to start early when I stop here, to have everything well set up with the right people.”

For now, his future is firmly anchored at Red Bull as the team prepares for a major regulatory overhaul, one Verstappen seems keen to embrace, not flee.