Max Verstappen signs new Red Bull deal to stay until end of 2030
Max Verstappen signed a contract extension with Oracle Red Bull Racing that will keep the four-time world champion at the team until the end of 2030, the team announced on August 20, 2026 as he prepared for his home race at the Dutch Grand Prix. The move ends months of speculation over a possible departure from Red Bull.
Verstappen’s previous agreement was due to run until the end of 2028 but contained clauses that could have allowed an earlier exit, and he had been linked with Mercedes and McLaren amid those uncertainties. His management is understood to have held talks with McLaren about a potential move for 2027. The new deal, which keeps him at the senior Red Bull outfit he joined in 2016, will take Verstappen through to the age of 33; he has won four consecutive drivers' championships with Red Bull and has 71 Grand Prix victories to his name.
Red Bull’s 2026 campaign produced a difficult start under new technical regulations: Verstappen has recorded two second-place finishes so far this season and sits sixth in the championship, 110 points behind Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli. His frustration with the new power-unit regulations had raised questions about whether he would remain in Formula 1, with Verstappen admitting earlier this year that he was considering his future. "I am really pleased with the contract extension. We have the best people and I'm excited to keep working together with everyone to get back to the top again," Verstappen said. "This remains the ultimate goal that all of us have been working towards and will continue to pursue. I have always said it, the team is like a second family for me and I feel very at home."
Red Bull have indicated incremental improvements to car performance and reliability while changes to the power-unit regulations have addressed some concerns raised earlier in the season. Laurent Mekies, who took over as team principal last season, praised the partnership with Verstappen in his response to the announcement: "Very few partnerships in sport achieve what Max and this team have," he said. "Since the very beginning, Max has embodied everything that makes Oracle Red Bull Racing special: uncompromising competitiveness, relentless determination and the courage to challenge convention. His impact on our team and on Red Bull’s motor sport story has been transformational, and he has been fundamental to everything we have accomplished together." The team also tweeted: "Ready to write another chapter together."
The extension comes amid notable changes within Red Bull's structure: Christian Horner has departed, Helmut Marko’s future has been questioned and Verstappen’s long-time race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase is set to join McLaren in 2028. Despite that turnover, Verstappen has chosen to remain with the team. India Today reported the contract may still include performance-related mechanisms that could allow an early exit, though the precise terms have not been disclosed.
With Verstappen committed to Red Bull through 2030, India Today said the move removes a degree of uncertainty in the 2027 driver market, with Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull appearing set to retain their current lead drivers.
Verstappen is due to race at the Dutch Grand Prix this weekend, the home event cited by media coverage around the contract announcement.