The Dutch driver won his maiden world championship title with the team in the 2021 season, which saw him beat Lewis Hamilton to the crown.
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The future of Red Bull Racing seems to be on the right track as Formula One world champion Max Verstappen penned a new five-year contract with the team on Thursday. The Dutch driver won his maiden world championship title with the team in the 2021 season, which saw him beat Lewis Hamilton to the crown in the last lap of the last race. Verstappen’s previous contract would have expired at the end of the 2022 season. The Dutchman will be a part of the Red Bull setup until 2028, by which time he will be hoping to win a number of world championships and write his name in the history books.
“I really enjoy being part of Red Bull Racing, so choosing to stay to the 2028 season was an easy decision,” Verstappen said. “I love this team and last year was simply incredible. Our goal since we came together in 2016 was to win the championship and we have done that, so now it’s about keeping the number one on the car long-term.”
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Team Principal Christian Horner said that signing the Dutchman until 2028 resembled a statement of intent and that it also showed the 24-year-old was a part of the team’s long-term planning. “To have Max signed with Red Bull through to the end of ‘28 is a real statement of intent. Our immediate focus is on retaining Max’s world championship title, but this deal also shows he is part of the team’s long-term planning,” Horner said.
“With the Red Bull Powertrains division working towards the new engine regulations for 2026 we wanted to make sure we had the best driver on the grid secured for that car,” he added.
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Mercedes F1 team technical chief Mike Elliott admitted that Red Bull Racing‘s ‘interesting’ sidepods on the RB18 will be closely examined by the team. Red Bull kept their cards close to their chest before pre-season testing. However, once at Barcelona, the teams got a look at the new car. But more than anything, it was the aggressive sidepod design that caught the eye. Thus, Mercedes want to explore that design option.
“To be perfectly honest, I have not spent an awful lot of time looking at the other cars,” he told F1 TV Tech Talk. “We have just been trying to fix our own issues. The guys in the factory are doing more of that.”
