Max Verstappen says he is “pretty fixed” at Red Bull amid speculation over whether he will see out his long-term deal to drive for the team.
The world champion signed a deal three years ago keeping him at the team until 2028. However reports have claimed a clause recently added to his contract allows him to end the deal early if the team’s advisor Helmut Marko leaves.
Marko’s position at the team appeared to be in jeopardy during the previous round in Jeddah. However Verstappen said today his preference is to remain at the team.
“I think there’s every reason to be happy,” he told the official F1 channel. “The car is going really well. There’s so many great people in the team that are constantly pushing for for better results.
“That’s what I focus on. I focus on the performance, I’m happy, and when I go home I don’t think about any other thing because it’s pretty fixed where I am. And that’s also where I want to be.”
He heads into this weekend’s race looking to continue his unbeaten run since the new season began. Verstappen said “it’s definitely been the best start so far to a year for me, personally.
“In the car [there’s] just a good balance. But I think also as a team, we operated really well without too many mistakes. So I’m of course very happy with that. and I hope that we can continue that way. We tried to keep on learning what we can do better, but it’s been very positive.”
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Verstappen’s team mate Sergio Perez, whose contract is up for renewal at the end of the year, said he has no such clause in his contract.
“Max, as far as I know, has a contract with with the team and is fully committed with the team and the rest, I think it’s not for me to comment,” he said in today’s FIA press conference. “It’s nothing to do with me.
“I’m focusing on my decisions and what I have to do. And I think for us to be talking about other drivers when we don’t know any facts, I don’t see any point to do so.”
Red Bull has been under fierce scrutiny since the season began as the team’s owners investigated, then cleared, team principal Christian Horner over alleged inappropriate behaviour. Horner denies any wrongdoing but the staff member who brought the complaint is now believed to be appealing against the decision to clear him.
However Perez says the atmosphere within the team is positive and contributing to the performance which has seen them win 24 of…
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