F1 star Max Verstappen reveals message to Red Bull team in huge contract negotiations

Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen reveals message to Red Bull team in huge contract negotiations

The Dutchman re-upped with the team last month

Chris Deeley Editor

Experienced sports writer covering F1 and other motorsports since 2023

Wednesday 9 September 2026 13:58

Make us your Google favorite

Max Verstappen has opened up on his 'second family' at Red Bull, after signing a new long-term contract last month.

The four-time world champion was the beating heart of the F1 rumour mill for much of the last two summers, but re-upped with his team until 2030 (albeit with various exit clauses included).

The Dutchman told BBC Sport at the Italian Grand Prix weekend that Red Bull's involvement beyond his F1 career helped him make the decision, insisting that he feels good in the setup he's thrived in for his entire time at the top of the sport.

Article continues under video

He also revealed that he told the team not to even think about his future during the contract negotiation process, insisting again that he was more concerned about on-track performance than anything else.

F1 HEADLINES: Ferrari confirm Monza inquest as Lewis Hamilton puts his boss on the hotseat

Verstappen: It's not only F1 for me

"It comes down to also feeling well within a team," Verstappen said. "This is like a second family to me. The belief that you can turn things around, you can build towards hopefully a better future with other people, new people.

"And at the end of the day, it's not only Formula 1 for me. There are a lot of things that I'm doing next year that Red Bull is involved in as well. I feel good here. So this, for me, is the right place to be."

He continued: "I always said to them: 'Don't stress about it, just work on the car'. Because the faster the car goes, the easier the decision is anyway.

"I can understand, of course, maybe sometimes they were a little bit worried. But at the same time, for me, I was just worried about here, what was going on.

"At the same time, I was very busy with my stuff also outside of Formula 1. So I never really spent a lot of time talking or doing different things or trying to go somewhere else."