F1 race winner outlines key reason why Max Verstappen won't leave Red Bull
David Coulthard who drove for Red Bull between 2005 and 2008 thinks Max Verstappen will finish his F1 career with the team
Ex- F1 driver and pundit David Coulthard believes that Max Verstappen is staying firmly put at Red Bull for the rest of his Formula 1 career.
Rumours have continued to swirl around Max Verstappen's future both at Red Bull and in Formula 1 altogether this season as a result of the 2026 regulations change.
Coupled with a less competitive package this year speculation around the four-time world champion's next move remains. However the F1 race winner and ex-Red Bull driver is convinced that Max won't be moving to another team.
Speaking on the latest Up To Speed podcast Coulthard said: “Max will not be going anywhere because there's no other Formula 1 team that would allow him to be Max,”
“McLaren wouldn't be able to do it. Ferrari wouldn't be able to do it. Mercedes wouldn't be able to do it, despite the fact he was driving a Mercedes, just because of the investment that goes into the individual driver, but Red Bull do."
“That's why we'll cut the speculation of a couple of weeks ago. Right now, Max is staying with Red Bull for the rest of his career.”
Verstappen is currently 7th in the standings and is yet to stand on the podium this season. The Dutchman's recent exploits in endurance racing, including his recent Nurburgring 24 hours attempt, have been adding fuel to rumours that Max would leave the sport altogether.
Verstappen had long been tied with a potential blockbuster move to Mercedes following a very public courting from team principal Toto Wolff. However more recently his name has been tied with a McLaren after his former long-time race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase was coaxed over to the papaya team. However at this point in the season a move to another team is looking very unlikely.
Max has already stated his desire to return to the Nurbugring 24 Hours after watching victory slip from his grasp.
The sister car to Verstappen's Mercedes AMG-GT3 took victory at the 2026 Nurburgring 24 Hours last week with Max ocoming agonisingly close to a race win.
Verstappen's #3 Winward Racing-run Mercedes-AMG GT3 suffered late-race heartbreak after a wheel bearing issue caused a driveshaft breakage while leading the race.
