Max Verstappen Extends Red Bull Contract Through 2030

Max Verstappen has signed a new contract with Red Bull that runs through the end of the 2030 Formula One season. BBC Sport reported the agreement on Thursday, confirming that the four-time world champion has extended a partnership with the team that began when he was promoted to its senior lineup in 2016.

Watch the highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9eEQ9JVlbw

The new deal replaces an agreement that had been due to expire at the end of 2028. According to the BBC report, that previous contract contained clauses that could have allowed Verstappen to leave after the current season. The precise terms of the new contract have not been disclosed, and Red Bull has not detailed the mechanisms that could still permit an earlier departure if performance falls short of expectations.

The announcement follows renewed uncertainty about Verstappen's future amid Red Bull's difficult start under Formula One's new car and engine regulations. He had been linked with possible moves to Mercedes and McLaren. His best results so far in 2026 have been second-place finishes in Austria and Hungary, after he missed the 2025 drivers' championship by two points to McLaren's Lando Norris.

Verstappen said in the team announcement that he remains focused on helping Red Bull return to the front. He described the organization as a second family and expressed confidence in team principal Laurent Mekies and the direction of the operation at its Milton Keynes base. Mekies took charge in July 2025 after Christian Horner left the team during a period of declining competitiveness.

The contract also provides continuity after Verstappen's trusted race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, agreed to join McLaren by 2028. BBC Sport reported that the renewal was announced ahead of Verstappen's final home race at Zandvoort before the Dutch Grand Prix drops from the Formula One calendar.

Verstappen began his Formula One career with Red Bull's junior team, then known as Toro Rosso, in 2015. He moved to Red Bull after four races of the 2016 season and won immediately on his debut for the senior team. He has since collected 71 grand prix victories and four consecutive world championships from 2021 through 2024, with his win total ranking third in Formula One history behind Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher.