Max Verstappen F1 future CONFIRMED as 2026 details outlined

Christian Horner has provided a definitive update over whether Max Verstappen will leave Red Bull, with the team principal describing recent speculation as ‘noise’.

Following a miserable Bahrain Grand Prix for Verstappen, where he finished P6, questions have been raised over his Red Bull future and Horner was forced to address these concerns in Saudi Arabia before Verstappen secured a shock pole position.

“I think noise is exactly the right word to describe it, there’s been a lot of noise outside of the team, inside of the team I think Max reaffirmed his commitment yesterday,” Horner said to Sky Sports F1 following Friday practice.

“We’re focused on making the car go faster, that’s where our focus is, Max is part of that, he’s a committed member of the team and the rest is all speculation and hearsay."

When asked if he was certain that Verstappen would be in the car at the start of 2026, Horner added: “Yeah absolutely.”

Will Verstappen leave Red Bull?

Red Bull reportedly held crisis talks after their performance at the Bahrain GP, and team chief Helmut Marko suggested that Verstappen’s future at the team was a ‘great concern’.

In the subsequent week, speculation about Verstappen’s F1 future has dominated headlines, and amongst them were Ralf Schumacher's comments that the Dutchman could exit Red Bull if they are still struggling at Imola.

However, these headlines remain speculative with Verstappen himself refusing to elaborate on rumours during Thursday’s press conference at the Saudi Arabian GP, where he told Sky Sports’ David Croft to ‘focus on commentating’ instead of on his future.

Verstappen has been linked to rival teams such as Mercedes and Aston Martin, however both teams have publicly stated that they are happy with their current driver pairing's; George Russell and Kimi Antonelli at Mercedes, and Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso at Aston Martin.

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