Martin Brundle shares “gut feeling” about Max Verstappen’s F1 future at Red Bull
Martin Brundle reveals what he thinks Max Verstappen will do amid wild rumours surrounding his F1 future.
Former Formula 1 driver and Sky Sports analyst Martin Brundle has revealed his “gut feeling” is that Max Verstappen will stay put at Red Bull next season.
Verstappen’s future in F1 is subject to wild rumours and intense speculation after it emerged in recent weeks that his management has held talks with McLaren about a potential move.
The four-time world champion is contracted to Red Bull until the end of 2028 but has a performance-related exit clause in his current deal that would enable him to leave early and join another team next season if he wanted.
But Brundle thinks Verstappen will ultimately end up remaining with Red Bull for 2027, though he did not rule out the prospect of the Dutchman taking a sabbatical for a year.
"Max obviously has a contract if he wants to stay at Red Bull," Brundle told Sky Sports F1 ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix.
"I'm not sure there are too many other places for him to go. The driver line-ups are largely settled at McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari, and they're the other three top teams. Max is at the fourth, Red Bull.
"So I'm sure they've been looking around behind the scenes because that's the manager's job: to find other opportunities and work out what's going on in the market.
"There's a lot of talk about whether they [Red Bull] might spring Oscar Piastri away from McLaren and do a swap, but that's a lot more complex than it sounds. It's very easy to make that headline.
"I think Max has also learned the hard way that whatever he says will, and can, be taken to mean something else. And, of course, if he doesn't say anything, the same thing happens. So they clearly don't want to speak about it at the moment.
"In a way, it's private business. It always amazes me how many big meetings and deals are done in the paddock. You'd think they would do that away from a Formula 1 race weekend, but that's not how it goes.
"So my gut feeling is that Max will stay at Red Bull next year. A sabbatical? I don't think it's out of the question either."
Verstappen’s future continued to be the hot topic on Thursday at Spa-Francorchamps but he gave nothing away when he faced the media and refused to engage with the rumours.
“No,” Verstappen simply replied when asked if there was any update.
When asked for his thoughts on the speculation, Verstappen responded: “Nothing.”
What about a date for a decision? “Nope. There’s nothing to say from my side.”
Pressed further on whether he is committed to Red Bull for 2027, Verstappen hit back: “I said there’s nothing to say.”
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