Verstappen's manager firmly quashes 'Max to McLaren' rumors

Verstappen has still not announced whether he will or will not stay with Red Bull Racing in 2027, and as long as that remains the case, speculation about the driver’s future in Formula 1 will continue. Laurent Mekies already stated during Friday’s press conference that Verstappen has told the team he wants to stay with the Austrians. After FP2 in Austria on Friday, Vermeulen said that Red Bull does need to be competitive.

Not long ago, a piece appeared in the British media claiming Verstappen was in talks with McLaren. The British newspaper claimed that in 2028 (or even as soon as next year) Verstappen would replace Oscar Piastri at McLaren. The two camps were said to have held secret discussions about a possible future with the Woking-based team.

According to Vermeulen, this is not true. “Those rumors are based on absolutely nothing. There have been no negotiations. As I said, we are waiting to see how the car develops over the coming weeks. We certainly want to stay with Red Bull, but with a car that makes winning possible,” he told BILD. For now, there appears to be nothing to those rumors.

Verstappen's current race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, has signed a deal with McLaren, and will join the Woking-based team no later than 2028. He will take on the role of Chief Racing Officer.