F1 NEWS TODAY: Update issued on Max Verstappen's Red Bull fu

Update issued on Max Verstappen’s Red Bull future as new ‘information’ revealed

An update has been issued over the future of reigning F1 champion Max Verstappen and his looming contract decision.

The Dutchman is currently contracted with Red Bull until the end of the 2028 season, but with talks of an exit clause in his current deal, a potential switch to Mercedes has remained the hot topic of debate among the paddock. At the Austrian Grand Prix last month, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff confirmed that he had enquired about Verstappen’s future to see whether a move to the Silver Arrows could be on the cards.

Nevertheless, an official decision is yet to be announced, with many pinpointing the upcoming summer break as a potential deadline for the 27-year-old to confirm his plans for 2026

Speaking ahead of this weekend’s Belgian GP, BBC reporter Andrew Benson has provided an update on the four-time champion’s future.

“If Verstappen is to leave Red Bull, it is most likely to be to Mercedes. Whether he will remains an open question for now.

“My sense from little bits of information from here and there is that at this stage Verstappen is more likely to stay at Red Bull than not. But of course that could change,” he wrote.

Verstappen Red Bull move would unsettle rivals

It must be said that as things stand, Verstappen’s most sensible move would be to stay put with Red Bull for 2026. He currently sits third in the championship standings behind both McLaren stars with a comeback unlikely to reclaim the drivers’ title this season, but that wouldn’t take away from the fact that he earned four consecutive drivers’ titles and dominated both championships in the past.

As the grid gets to grips with the new regulations next season, Verstappen’s best approach may well be to see how the post-Horner era plays out at Red Bull. If Laurent Mekies’ leadership is not to his liking, he could easily jump ship for 2027 after the top team has emerged from the regulation change. The two teams who are already being tipped to benefit from the new regulations are Aston Martin, thanks to the hiring of Adrian Newey, and Mercedes, but if Verstappen wishes to reunite with Newey at Lawrence Stroll’s outfit sooner than 2027, he faces a major issue. BBC reporter Benson touched on this in his latest Q&A, writing: “Aston Martin already have two drivers committed for 2026. Fernando Alonso‘s contract runs out at the end of next season, and Lance Stroll will drive there for as long as he wants. Stroll is the son of the owner, Lawrence Stroll, and the team effectively exists for him.

“That means that if Verstappen were to want to leave Red Bull for Aston Martin, an arrangement would have to be reached with Alonso. “Given that Alonso gets his first chance to drive an Adrian Newey-designed car next year, the chances of him being especially amenable to that are low. Any pay-off in such circumstances would have to be very large indeed, one can imagine. “Having said all of that, and while nothing is impossible in F1, and one can always be surprised, there does not seem to be any movement in this direction at the moment.”