Asked at Zandvoort whether he had come close to signing for another team, the four-time world champion offered a one-line answer that reset the entire summer’s coverage.

“I think I was closer to retiring than changing teams! But, no, all good,” he told reporters, according to Sky Sports.

The remark landed the day after Red Bull confirmed a two-year extension that ties Verstappen to the team until the end of 2030. His previous deal ran through 2028 and contained performance-based exit clauses that had kept the rumour mill turning for more than a year.

Regulations, not results, drove the doubt

Verstappen’s hesitation was not about Red Bull’s slide down the grid. It was about whether he wanted to keep racing at all under the new 2026 power-unit rules.

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He told team principal Laurent Mekies to stop raising the subject during the opening rounds of this season.

“I said to Laurent, don’t come to me with any kind of questions about the future, because I don’t even know if I want to stay,” Verstappen said, Motorsport.com reported.

The Dutchman has been openly critical of the regulation package that increases the electrical share of the hybrid power unit, and he has said he held extended talks with F1 and the FIA about the direction of the sport before settling on the extension.

The McLaren story, rewritten

The comment recasts a saga that dominated F1 headlines through the spring and early summer. Verstappen’s management held talks with McLaren about a possible switch for 2027, according to ESPN, and his name was also linked with Mercedes and Aston Martin.

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“A few names have left, but at the same time, it’s still my family. I never felt that desire or need to change to another team,” he told reporters at Zandvoort.

One of those departures cuts especially close. Gianpiero Lambiase, his race engineer since 2016, will leave Red Bull for McLaren in 2028 when his current contract expires, taking on a senior role at the Woking team.

Mekies gets his endorsement

The extension is also a vote of confidence in Mekies, who took over as team principal last year following Christian Horner’s departure.

“Having Max continue with us and retaining the best driver on the grid is fantastic news for everyone at Red Bull, Oracle Red Bull Racing, as well as F1 and motorsport as a whole,” Mekies said in the team’s announcement.

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Verstappen lines up for the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort on Sunday with his F1 future settled until the end of 2030 and the McLaren speculation formally closed.

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