The world champion speaks to Giles Richards about dealing with Red Bull’s internal strife, learning from mistakes and focusing on performance
Max Verstappen says he wants to see out his contract with Red Bull, which takes him to the end of 2028.Max Verstappen says he wants to see out his contract with Red Bull, which takes him to the end of 2028.ax Verstappen takes a breath, gathering his thoughts, the usually ebullient and unpredictable driver for once appearing stilted. It is almost as if he is assessing the parameters of what he can and cannot say, knowing his words carry more scrutiny than ever this season.
“I would rather not have these stories, these things going on within the team,” he says. “We just have to deal with it and move on from it. I am contracted to the team to do my job, that’s performance, that’s what I am focused on. I am not a politician, I am not someone who likes to be political. I just focus on the performance with the people around me, try to distract myself from, let’s say, the negative.
Amid all of this was Verstappen, one of the most talented drivers of his generation in a car that is the class of the field. Except no one has been talking about him, or his car. Yet Verstappen has been clear that his father would always be absolutely vital in his career, more so than Horner. Earlier this season he talked about the “pillars” of stability he required to remain with the team and that clearly his father was one, which given the relationship between Horner and Jos felt incongruous.
“Nothing, I wouldn’t tell him to change,” he says with a return to his more usual confident decisiveness. “It’s good to make mistakes, it’s good to learn to challenge yourself, to have tough moments and overcome them. If everything comes easy to you it’s quite boring to know what is going to happen tomorrow or the day after. It’s exciting to not know, to feel it, to learn it yourself and it will be until the final day of your career.
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