Seeking the best of the sport is always any team’s desire. The same applies to the Formula One grid, where Max Verstappen is currently the hottest driver at present. The four-time F1 World Champion drives for Red Bull. According to reports, Verstappen’s contract runs through 2028, although there are performance-related exit clauses. Despite his long tenure, other teams have been trying to ensnare him.

Rumors about attractive offers that touch a billion pounds are doing the rounds. Evidence of Max Verstappen holding meetings with rival team owners has also sprung up. However, his home team is convinced that Verstappen will be committed to his home ground.

Max Verstappen’s exit rumor shut down

In 2024, the Red Bull star clinched his fourth consecutive World Championship. Max Verstappen has continued this glorious streak since 2021 and established himself as the most attractive prospect. Hints about Lewis Hamilton leaving Mercedes have been circulating since the start of 2024.

Accordingly, Mercedes chief Toto Wolff had admittedly sat down with Verstappen a few times. This connection was also due to Jos Verstappen, Max’s father, being a close friend of Wolff. Jos has been known for keeping track of Red Bull’s internal problems and confronting team principal Christian Horner.

The pieces did not fall in place to turn this rumor into reality – not yet, at least. Lewis Hamilton left Mercedes, but Wolff had a replacement already in place; junior driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli. Currently, a senior executive of Red Bull also shut down the rumor. Helmut Marko deflated Toto Wolff’s interest in Max Verstappen: “That’s all well and good, but Max has a contract with us until the end of 2028. I know how loyal and grateful he is to Red Bull. He will also be a Red Bull driver in 2026 and as a five-time world champion.”

Well, the 1971 24 Hours of Le Mans winner has ample reason to step in and dissolve the rumors. Mercedes was not the only team that fans thought was wooing Max Verstappen. Even Aston Martin entered this champion-luring chat. A newspaper claimed that the outfit was using Verstappen’s name to attract sponsors while posting sky-high figures to rope in the driver. However, an Aston Martin representative “categorically” denied the story. Toto Wolff himself has laid down his reasons for not pursuing his Verstappen ambitions for now.

And the man himself, Max Verstappen, has clarified why he is not tilting from his team.

Valuing the team bond over team numbers

Max Verstappen’s ties with Red Bull run deeper than meets the eye. He entered the Milton Keynes outfit in 2016 when he won his debut race at the Spanish Grand Prix. He became the youngest race winner in the history of the sport at 18 years old, and he beat the Ferrari duo of Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel. Another memorable moment came in 2021. Verstappen fought an intense, season-long battle with seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton, and prevailed to clinch his first championship. Given that Red Bull has propelled him to success so many times, Verstappen sees it as his second home.

When answering questions about his talks with Mercedes, Max Verstappen was clear about where his heart lies. “The big teams are always interesting, but on the other hand I am also with a very big team. I have achieved a lot of success with them and it just feels like a second family. You can’t make the considerations to leave very quickly. It’s not like I wake up and I say, yes, next year it’s done. I’m not someone who shoots from left to right very quickly anyway. So you have to think about that kind of thing very carefully, if you want to do that.”

Evidently, Max Verstappen is not jumping ship anytime soon. His tenure with Red Bull is running strong for four years in a row – let us see if the fifth is coming up in 2025.