Max Verstappen made it clear that renewing his contract with Red Bull Racing is not among his priorities at the moment. The four-time Formula 1 champion stated that before thinking about a new agreement, he needs to decide if he wants to continue competing beyond 2028.
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While Charles Leclerc announced a new deal with Ferrari on Wednesday (03), the Dutchman assured that he is in no hurry to discuss his next contract. According to him, the current focus is on other more urgent issues within the team.
“I haven’t signed a new contract for a while,” Verstappen said when asked about his situation: “That’s not my biggest concern at the moment. I still have two more years. First I need to decide for myself if I want to continue beyond 2028. I’m also not in a hurry. Otherwise, I would have signed a contract until 2040 a long time ago,” he joked.
The Dutch driver highlighted that his attention is focused on the evolution of the Red Bull car, which faced difficulties at the start of the current season. He recalled that the team took a step forward in Miami and achieved its first podium of the year in Canada with P3, taking advantage of George Russell’s retirement.
Despite the positive result in Montreal, Verstappen acknowledged that there are still significant limitations in the car’s performance. According to him, straight-line speed remains one of the current team’s weak points.
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“There was no specific problem. I think that’s simply the limit we have at the moment. We are a bit slower on the straights. On circuits where you naturally lose more energy, it becomes even more difficult,” explained the Red Bull driver.
The Dutchman also adopted a cautious tone for the Monaco GP: “There is still a lot of work to be done. We can say what we want, but the facts show that we are still slow. I think that will continue to be the case here too,” he added.
Regarding the chances of overtaking in the race on the streets of Monte Carlo, the four-time champion did not show much optimism. He recalled that categories such as Formula 2, Formula 3, and Porsche Cup also face difficulties in performing these maneuvers on the circuit: “In the past, I managed some overtakes because the cars ahead were two or three seconds slower. Now, that’s a completely different story. When there are many cars around, it’s simply not possible to overtake,” he concluded.
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