Günther Steiner does not expect Max Verstappen to leave Red Bull at the end of the year – The Dutchman will wait and see what happens next year
Former Haas team boss Günther Steiner believes that four-time Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen will remain with Red Bull in 2026. In his opinion, a move after the current season would be “very risky.”
Questions about Verstappen’s future at Red Bull arose after Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff confirmed that he had spoken to the Dutchman about a possible move.
Although Wolff emphasized that the likelihood of a move to Mercedes for 2026 is very low, the contracts of George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli for the coming year have still not been confirmed.
Further speculation was sparked by Wednesday’s announcement that Red Bull team principal and CEO Christian Horner had been relieved of his duties with immediate effect.
“I believe Max will definitely stay at Red Bull in 2026,” Steiner told sport.de. The Dutchman will “look around to see what the situation is next year, who is strong and which team is not.”
“Because changing at the moment and signing a long-term contract with someone, whoever it is, would be very risky,” warns Steiner. “That’s why he says, ‘I’m staying where I am, watching how things develop.’”
Steiner: Verstappen could still switch in 2027
“And he certainly has clauses in his contract that allow him to switch if things don’t work out next year. And we all know that the best team always wants the best driver. And the best driver always wants to be on the best team. That’s why I believe he’ll have exactly the same opportunity next year,” said Steiner.
New technical regulations will come into force in Formula 1 in 2026, making it extremely difficult to predict how the teams will perform. In addition, Red Bull is parting ways with Honda and will compete with its own engines in collaboration with Ford in the future.
Steiner therefore believes that a change for the 2026 season would be “a risk” that Verstappen would probably not want to take. He will first wait and see how things stand next year, “how the teams are doing with the new regulations. And then I might decide for 2027,” said Steiner.
“But changing now would be very risky, because I don’t think anyone would give him a contract for just one year. And it wouldn’t be good for him either if he were with another team next year, that wouldn’t be good, and then he’d change again.”
“That’s why he says, ‘I’ll stay where I am and see how next year goes,’” Steiner speculated.
