Max Verstappen has extended his collaboration with Red Bull. The Dutchman remains loyal to the Austrian racing team until 2030. Since he moved up to the main team in 2016, he has not known any other F1 team. He completely took control of the team and reached heights once thought impossible for a Dutch driver. Now that Verstappen has a new contract in hand, we look back on the highlights of the past ten years.
Read more Frédéric Vasseur expects challenging final Dutch GP: ‘Zandvoort is a demanding circuit’
Everyone will still remember Max Verstappen’s Red Bull debut. At the junior team Toro Rosso, he quickly claimed his spot in the top class, after which he got the chance in 2016 to replace Daniil Kvyat at the main team. Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko considered him ready for this big step ahead of the Spanish GP. Expectations were high, but the very young Dutchman remained calm under pressure. He took full advantage of an early crash between Mercedes rivals Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg and became the youngest Formula 1 winner ever.
Growing in Formula 1
In the following years, Verstappen repeatedly proves that he belongs to the absolute top, with impressive overtakes and multiple victories. However, his Red Bull between 2016 and 2020 could not match the speed of Mercedes and Ferrari, and he did not yet play a leading role in the title fight. Meanwhile, he established himself as the number one driver at Red Bull. He built a close friendship with Daniel Ricciardo, but after 2018 the Australian chose to move to Renault. Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon would follow, but Verstappen repeatedly proved to be Red Bull’s absolute spearhead, also because he consistently outperformed his teammates.
(Text continues below image)
As leader of Red Bull, Verstappen further sharpens his racing skills and says he has become calmer and more thoughtful. This is especially evident when his first real title chance arises in 2021. The Dutchman fights a titanic duel with Lewis Hamilton all season long. The two are far from friends. As the king of Formula 1 and his intended successor, their rivalry has been under a magnifying glass for years. Those who enjoy soap operas and controversy were served well in 2021: Hamilton and Verstappen not only clashed multiple times on the track, their teams also fought a bitter political battle off the track.
Hollywood season
As befits a Hollywood season like 2021, the battle is only decided in the last lap of the last race. After a late safety car phase, the final race in Abu Dhabi is restarted with one lap to go. Hamilton is leading, with the win that would give him the title. But Verstappen has been able to get new tires, Hamilton has not. With the tire advantage and the calm of a top driver, Verstappen strikes. He overtakes Hamilton and claims his first world title. Red Bull loses the constructors’ championship to Mercedes, but by now the whole world knows that the team with Verstappen has gold in its hands.
(Text continues below image)
The Dutchman repeated his success in 2022, partly thanks to the speed of the new RB18 delivered by Red Bull. At the start of the season, he still had to contend with Ferrari and Charles Leclerc, but as the year progressed, the Verstappen-Red Bull combination became unstoppable. The Limburg driver won an astonishing fifteen races, a record. His second title was a logical consequence. Red Bull – which also secured the constructors’ title – then signed him until 2028 with a new monster contract.
Read more NEWS: Max Verstappen extends contract with Red Bull until 2030!
Lonely at the top
The very strong 2022 season proved to be just a preview. In 2023, the Dutchman rose to solitary heights. The RB19 was unstoppable in Verstappen’s hands. With five races to go, the title was already his. He and his team kept breaking records. Until Singapore, no other team had won a race and Verstappen won ten Grands Prix in a row. An unprecedented streak. In the desert heat of Qatar, his third title was secured and Red Bull also defended the constructors’ championship.
(Text continues below image)
Also in 2024, Verstappen seems on course for the top prize, although he faces resistance from McLaren halfway through the season. Good friend Lando Norris leads the lightning-fast papayas to multiple victories and Oscar Piastri also scores two wins. Both Ferrari drivers and both Mercedes drivers also achieve multiple successes, meaning Red Bull is no longer guaranteed victory. However, Verstappen flexes his muscles and proves in Las Vegas that Norris cannot yet match his speed. Under the neon lights of the gambling city, he claims his fourth consecutive title, although McLaren ultimately takes the teams’ title.
New contract Max Verstappen
In 2025, Verstappen again experiences several highlights, although this has little to do with Red Bull’s speed. Meanwhile, McLaren drivers Norris and Piastri fight a bitter battle and his fifth title seems to slip away early. In the second half of the season, Verstappen pushes his team hard and manages to set up a title fight. He scores eight wins, more than any other driver, but all are credited to himself. It is not enough to keep Lando Norris from his first title, which fuels rumors of a new transfer for Verstappen.
In 2026, Red Bull seems to pay the price for the catch-up of the previous season. Red Bull delivers a flawed car with the RB22 and ahead of the last Dutch GP at Zandvoort, Verstappen has not yet won any Grands Prix. Mercedes again proves to be the superpower in Formula 1. Rumors about a transfer to Mercedes or McLaren reach a peak, but the day before the first sessions, Verstappen clarifies the situation. He extends his contract until 2030 and expresses his confidence in Red Bull. Over the next four years, he and team principal Laurent Mekies aim for new victories and new highlights. Will Verstappen – in Mekies’ words – ‘make even more history’? Time will tell.
Read more Max Verstappen on contract extension with Red Bull: ‘The team is like a second family’
Read everything about the Dutch GP in Zandvoort here
