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Max Verstappen has poured cold water on speculation surrounding a possible Red Bull exit, choosing to keep his focus firmly on performance rather than paddock politics.
The storm was stirred earlier this week when Red Bull’s long-time advisor Helmut Marko admitted he had “great concern” that the Dutchman could leave the team if things don’t improve soon.
Marko was speaking in the aftermath of a disappointing weekend in Bahrain, where Verstappen could only finish sixth, three places ahead of his new teammate Yuki Tsunoda, behind a dominant show by McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.
Asked specifically to comment on Marko’s fears, Verstappen shared that he is not letting external noise shift his mindset.
“I’m just focusing on driving and don’t think about any other scenarios,” he said, clearly uninterested in fuelling the rumour mill.
He elaborated that the Bahrain result stung — not just for him, but across the garage.
“Of course, Bahrain wasn’t a great weekend. I think we were all pretty disappointed with that,” he admitted.
“But I don’t sit and dwell on it. I just keep working with the team, keep trying to improve the car, and come up with new ideas. That’s how I go about my weeks — one at a time, trying to improve the situation.”
The Dutchman’s name has been linked with multiple teams over recent months, including Mercedes, Ferrari, and more recently, Aston Martin, who have just pulled off a major coup by signing former Red Bull design chief Adrian Newey.
But Verstappen made it clear that all the talk is coming from outside the cockpit, not from him.
“A lot of people are talking about it… Except me,” he said with a smile.
“Like I said, I just want to focus on my car and work with the people around me. That’s the only thing on my mind when it comes to Formula One. I’m happy. I’m not very happy with the car, but that’s the job — we all want to be better, and we’re all working on that.”
Heading into this weekend’s Grand Prix in Jeddah — a track where Max Verstappen has won twice — the focus within Red Bull is to get back on track with improvements.
“We’re still trying things with the car,” he explained. “Are there things we can fix? Of course. But how much we’ll manage to solve here in Jeddah… that’s still up in the air.”
“We’re always pushing to find that sweet spot. It’s a narrow window, and Suzuka was proof that when we hit it, we can still deliver.”
That race in Japan remains the high point of Verstappen’s 2025 campaign so far — a brilliant pole followed by a dominant win — but with McLaren already clinching three out of four races this season, the pressure is on Red Bull to find answers quickly.
“It’s tough to fight for a championship right now, especially when we’re not the quickest,” he acknowledged.
“But it’s a long road. Last year, everything looked perfect early on, and we still hit a rough patch mid-season. So I’m just taking it race by race. I think Jeddah will be better than Bahrain — but beyond that, a lot is out of my hands.”
Joining Max Verstappen in the press conference was Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, who couldn’t help but enjoy the headlines linking Max to his team.
“Those rumours are great for us — they say a lot about where Aston is heading and the kind of future this team has,” Alonso said. “Would I welcome Max as a teammate? Of course. But let’s be honest — it’s very unlikely to happen.”
For now, Red Bull’s star driver is staying put and staying grounded, focused on fixing what’s in front of him, not chasing headlines.
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