Verstappen commits to Red Bull until end of 2030
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ZANDVOORT, Netherlands, Aug 20 : Max Verstappen signed a contract extension with Red Bull to the end of 2030 on Thursday, ending speculation about the four-time world champion's near-term Formula One future.
The 28-year-old already had a contract to the end of 2028 but with break clauses offering a potential way out should the team fail to meet his expectations and provide a winning car.
Such performance-related clauses were believed to have been triggered this season, according to Dutch media reports, with Verstappen yet to win in 2026 and having two second places as his best results. They are likely to remain in the new deal.
Red Bull lie fourth overall this season, and Verstappen sixth, 110 points behind Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, after 11 races and ahead of his home grand prix this weekend - the last at Zandvoort before the circuit drops off the calendar.
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LINKED TO MERCEDES AND MCLAREN
The Dutch driver had been linked in media reports to both McLaren, who have signed his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase from 2028 at the latest, and championship leaders Mercedes. He has also hinted he could walk away, such was his distaste for the new regulations.
"I am really pleased with the contract extension," Verstappen, who joined Red Bull's junior programme in 2014 and has won all his titles with the team, said in a team statement in which he also praised team boss Laurent Mekies.
"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."
Mekies said very few partnerships in sport had achieved what Verstappen and Red Bull had, and the extension was rooted in trust.
"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," said the Frenchman.
"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."
ALONSO NOW THE FOCUS ELSEWHERE IN PADDOCK
Red Bull are competing with their own power unit, in partnership with Ford, for the first time this season and it has impressed with its performance even if the team have had a difficult start to the sport's new engine and chassis era.
The new deal will also have ramifications for the rest of the paddock, with McLaren and Mercedes set to remain unchanged in 2027 while Red Bull and sister team Racing Bulls should be equally settled.
Williams recently confirmed both Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon were staying for 2027, ending another line of speculation.
The focus is now likely to switch to Fernando Alonso at Aston Martin, with the team awaiting a decision from the two-time world champion who turned 45 last month and hoping he too stays for another year.
Other potential opening could be at Haas, where Esteban Ocon's seat has been in question for some time, and newcomers Cadillac who sacked founding principal Graeme Lowdon this month.
(Additional reporting by Suramya Kaushik in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Chopra, Alexander Smith and Ed Osmond)
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