Verstappen seems to give up on difficult 2026 season

20:41, 03 Jul

Updated: 09:33, 04 Jul

byNorberto Mujica

'Max Verstappen to Mercedes': that's the bit of news the F1 world is hung up on, and it Silverstone the situation was no different.

During media day the reigning world champion was asked if in a bid silence said speculation he would confirm driving for Red Bull Racing come 2026. A chance the Dutchman refused. "Like I said last week, that's all that I have to say about it," said Verstappen to media present inclouding GPblog.

That Verstappen wishes to remain at Red Bull is no secret, as GPblog itself has been able to confirm on a multiple number of times. It is of course well-known that the reigning champion drives to win, but the fact that this is not happening at the moment does not diminish his commitment to his team, Red Bull, and to the men and women devoted to giving him the best possible race car.

Red Bull's lowly form a reason to leave? 'It's part of the F1 fun'

Contrasted to his dominant F1 2023 season, 2024 and 2025 seem like the opposite face of the same coin. Nevertheless the Dutchman, as practical and pragmatic as he always has once again defended his colleagues' labor and accepted the current performance as part of the 'F1 fun.'

"Well that's F1 for you, I mean if everyone knew what they had to do, then everyone was winning races or at least everyone had a chance of winning," said Verstappen to media present at Silverstone, including GPblog.

"In F1 unfortunately that's not the case, it's a very complicated sport so of course we are not where we want to be, but we're still fighting for podiums. I mean, it could be also way worse and you're driving last," as has been the case at times for his teammate Yuki Tsunoda who got knocked out in Q1 in Austria, Red Bull's home race, and finished the Grand Prix in Austria two laps behind eventual winner Lando Norris.

"So yeah, it's work in progress. I think, we are trying to find more performance in the car, but also of course, last year, we were a bit hurt with our balance issues that we had with the car. So, you know, we also had to first understand what was going on there."

The time spent in solving the issues of the complicated RB20, have also marred the Austrian team's current season, and therefore Verstappen's as well by extent. Nevertheless, the Dutchman knows that success is not a never-ending streak.

"We're still trying everything we can to be as competitive as we can be. Now, is that going to be [at] McLaren's level? Maybe not. Probably not. That's how fun goes for you. Sometimes you have dominant years, good years where you can win a lot. Sometimes maybe not. Or not at all," concluded Verstappen.