Max Verstappen has confirmed that he will remain with Red Bull for the 2026 season, putting an end to speculation that he could swap his long-time employers for Mercedes and stating it was time to 'stop all the rumours'. The Dutchman is contracted with the Milton Keynes squad until the end of the 2028 campaign. Verstappen was subject to interest from Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, who also tried to lure the four-time world champion to Brackley when Lewis Hamilton called time on his Silver Arrows career in 2024.

However, the 27-year-old is keeping faith in Red Bull and plans to see out at least the first season of the new regulations with the team. "The thing is always that people are waffling so much throughout the whole season, while the only one that actually can or should speak is not speaking," he said.

"That's me. And I do that on purpose because it makes no sense to start throwing things around, and actually, that should be the same for everyone. Some people just like to stir the pot, some people just like to create drama.

"But, for me, it's always been quite clear, and also for next year. I'm discussing with the team already the plans, the things that we want to change for next year. So that means that I'm also staying with the team for next year.

"I think it's time to basically stop all the rumours, and for me it's always been quite clear that I was staying anyway. I think that was also the general feeling in the team, anyway, because we were always in discussions about what we could do with the car. And when you're not interested in staying, then you also stop talking about these kinds of things - and I never did."

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Verstappen's comments follow Helmut Marko's own declaration at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps last weekend. The Austrian assured reporters that the 27-year-old had no plans to leave Red Bull, and this has now been confirmed, just weeks after long-serving team principal Christian Horner was sacked.

According to Marko, Mercedes boss Wolff is to blame for the speculation surrounding a summer break exit clause. “Above all, everyone thought they knew better than us what the exit clause looked like," he told Kronen Zeitung. "All of that was fueled somewhat by Toto.

“But it was always clear to me, because it would have been foolish for Max to switch in 2026. Because it’s a blank slate: Nobody knows who has the best engine or the best chassis. There are many parameters where things can go wrong. If I were Verstappen, I would also look at that first and then decide.”