Why Max Verstappen chose to stay at Red Bull

0:02This is a global production. The big one. Max Verstappen is back. Back until 2030. I told you so. Red Bull allows him to be Max Verstappen. Is Red Bull as competitive as it has been? No. Max is nobody's fault.

0:26Up to speed.

0:32It's Will. It's David. Welcome to Up to Speed. And a special emergency episode because news has broken in Zanvoort, the Netherlands. We talk, of course, of the fact that Alex Albin and Carlos Sainz have re-signed for Williams. That was the big news and unexpected, certainly in the case of Carlos Sainz, perhaps. But the big one, and it is a big one, Max Verstappen is back. And not just back at Red Bull Racing. for a little bit, but back until 2030 and DC, I think we can lay the floor open for you at this juncture to give us the immortal words. I told you so. Yes, you did.

1:15Which is why you're well-rooming at somewhere in America. Here I am in Zamfort looking out at a windy, rainy weekend ahead. But yeah, you know, well, you've been in this paddock a long time And you know how the rumor mill, they love it. Certain guys love to stir up. And that's the art of being an investigative journalist, is to find a crack and get your finger in there and then see how the story develops. And you could actually feel, the press conference yesterday at Red Bull with Max was one of the busiest I've ever seen, considering all it is is an extension of our existing relationship. But I think it's because people are like, oh, we're quite enjoying the speculation that Will, he won't, he won't go.

2:06And it turns out, and he used the reference to marriage in terms of the longevity of time there that he's practicing for his marriage. It turns out that, you know, marriages go through good and bad times. Relationships go up and down. Friendships come and go. and Red Bull allows him to be Max Verstappen and with the greatest respect to the other teams that are out there I wouldn't say there is much a sort of partnership with the driver especially with someone like Max it's more we're the team and we create the opportunity for you and then if the driver gets big enough for someone like a Lewis at a certain point he goes yeah I'm done with you I'm off for the next bit of fun which is what he did with Ferrari I almost feel with the Lewis thing It was almost sort of Mercedes wanting the younger model and Lewis having to sort of go off and find somewhere else to be happy.

3:00But, you know, I think he was pushed rather than he jumped. I mean, there was a, you know, there was the opportunity. They wanted to get Kimmy in. Anyway, it's not about Lewis. The fascinating thing with this, it's a great analogy that he made to marriages and a great point that you raise. You know, people change and people grow and people need to be given the opportunity within that relationship to grow. But also to see that, you know, that ability for happiness will remain. And, you know, Max did look elsewhere. We know that he has had exploratory conversations with other teams, but it feels from his words yesterday that the desire was always to stay.

3:42And to the point, DC, that you have made week in, week out, from the start of us making this podcast, you know, at the beginning of the year, your point was always that you could never see him being anything but a Red Bull driver. And Max's point yesterday was I couldn't be anything but a Red Bull driver. And critically, I made a promise to Dietrich Mateschitz, the guy who established Red Bull as a brand, as what it was before his untimely death a few years ago. So, you know, I made a promise to Dietrich that this is the only team I'd ever drive for. I love that he's been true to that. I love that he's been honest with that and that, you know, he never wanted to go anywhere.

4:23It was retirement or it was do a new deal. So I really I think there's something very honorable about that in a world and an environment that can be very egocentric and very self-centered and always going for what you as an individual, you know, you as drivers. is you want the most competitive outfit. Is Red Bull as competitive as it has been? No. Could it be again? Well, that's what we'll discuss. But the fact that he has determined that ultimately he's going to be a one-team guy for his entire F1 career, I think is entirely noble. Who would have thought, you know, nobility in sport? We've discussed this before, have we, that the bizarre thing in sport is, you know, there's a fanfare of the marriage.

5:09if we stick with that analogy but in motor racing like i assume any other team sport as you've signed the marriage document you've got the divorce papers ready because historically no one stays either with one team or very rarely and even if they do a career has its timeline and you know standing still for no person but um yeah i think uh i i've i felt that if he was going to do anything then it would maybe be take take a sabbatical take a year out um he will have various break clauses if the team's performance diminishes of course he will but there's no reason as you see the cycle of your ferraris your mercedes's and the other top teams mclaren and and uh you know alpine you as a former world championship team you can consider that as well will will eventually come back to winning ways and his commitment so um i'm glad that speculation is over.

6:05The Carlos Sainz signing came a little bit maybe quicker than maybe we would have expected but when you actually look at what are the options out there there wasn't many options that he could really hang his hat on. Audi are clearly happy with the drivers. Aston it looks like Fernando's staying on for his 30th year in Formula 1. So the sort of paddock is settling down now. So I guess the other thing came up in amongst all of this Max Verstappen news is the change of, you know, as we spoke about in the podcast earlier in the week, the change of team principle at Cadillac. So, you know, it feels like the second half of the season has come at us with a lot of sort of fresh energy.

6:49Yeah, it's kind of killed silly season. It's kind of killed the driver market because it looks like it's going to remain relatively stagnant, save potentially for, potentially that seat at Cadillac and does Colton Herta come in to one of them? Esteban Ocon's seat at Haas remains slightly wobbly, shall we say. But other than that, I think it looks pretty much like it's going to be a status quo. It does provide Red Bull with the question over the other three seats, something we'll get onto a little bit later in this emergency pod. But looking at the rhyme and the reason for Max re-signing, I think it's fascinating that the entire thing seems to have been based on multiple pillars.

7:28One of those is something you've touched on, DC, which was his enjoyment of the sport as a whole. And him re-signing up to 2030, I think, is incredibly meaningful because it takes him through this entire regulation cycle, and a regulation cycle that he wasn't happy with, and he's been very vocal that he's not happy with this regulation cycle. So what it says to me is that the changes made and proposed by Formula One, by the FIA, that the moves that they made early in the season to try to make better what was an imperfect science of the new regulations, seems to have actually kind of reinforced to Max that people are listening to him, that the sport is heading in the right direction, and that he'll be happy to spend the next three, four years racing these cars.

8:15It does crucially put him onto the verge of us getting V8s back into Formula One, something that we know Max is very, very keen on. So I think that in and of itself is absolutely fascinating. But the other pillars that were absolutely key, and apparently Laurent made a PowerPoint presentation, which sounds very George Russell. And for those who don't know, when George was first making his way into Formula One, he managed to lock down a seat at Williams by sitting down at Williams and showing them a PowerPoint presentation of why he'd be the best driver for the team. It's lovely. But apparently Laurent did the same to Max with a PowerPoint presentation of the team and all it could offer Max.

8:55And part and parcel of that, DC, is the team itself. So who Max gets on the pit wall. He's losing GP, right? You know, that's going to happen. So how is the pit wall being rebuilt? How is the team around him that has seen so many key figures leave over the last two to three years? How is that going to rebuild? How is the team going to reform itself with him as its talisman in order to get back to the front? And Laurent has clearly been able to sell him an image of the team that he believes in. Yeah, 100 % on that. I'll tell you who will be breathing a sigh of relief is any other driver that was potentially out of contract.

9:37Because when you've got Max Verstappen talking to all of the top teams, then you are going to be under threat. I had in my first contract with McLaren, they could replace me for Michael Schumacher. And obviously I wasn't particularly happy about that. It wasn't there in my second contract with McLaren. But in going from Williams to McLaren, Ron wanted to keep the opportunity and the possibility of being able to get Michael, who clearly at that stage was a rising guy at the beginning of his journey. So George will be breathing a sigh of relief. I know Kimi said he wouldn't have minded. But, you know, the benefit of youth is you don't know what you don't know.

10:17I think Max would be a formidable teammate for anyone. But we now know where his future lies. That's going to be ongoing. And the silly season gets put to bed. And it's only sort of, let's say, minor seats now, I guess, we're waiting on with the greatest respect to the drivers that are yet to be confirmed. This is a big feather in the cap for Laurent Marquise. It is from Max a confirmation that he believes in Laurent and the manner in which he's leading that team forward, which is very, very positive. Do you see this contract signing as Max agreeing to be part of a rebuilding process over the next three, four years up to 2030?

10:56Or do you think that Laurent has been able to sell him a vision of this team that will hit the heights Max requires from it within that period? my gut feeling and this is not based on any any conversation my gut feeling is this is a true partnership this isn't a classic you know the powerpoint presentation is a is a lovely lovely way of sort of showing what is being put in place but max is nobody's fool he had sent him into the sport had maturity in racing beyond his years you look at the way he lives his life. He's not red carpeting. He's not, you know, doing a lot of the other things that you see with the new, you know, the drivers that have found fame and fortune in the sport.

11:44He lives his life his way and could quite happily go off and race his GT cars. You know, this is not, it sort of reminds me of Senna when he, I forget the year, was it 88 or 89, where he didn't agree. Maybe it was later than that you'll you'll know will um where he basically didn't sign a contract until the week of the first grand prix didn't yeah flew in on the wednesday evening came to the track and might even be the thursday night jumped in the car and went quickest because he wouldn't agree a contract until it was on his terms and he was the driver of that generation so we just have to accept whether you're a fan of his or not he is one of the the exceptionals and he's got what he wanted.

12:28You know, time will tell what the journey rewards them with. And that's a really good point is I think the man who Max is now, the family man wanting to spend time at home, wanting to raise the kids. You know, Max having time for himself, from what we understand of the contract, is a very important part of that. Max being able to go and race other things appears to have been a very important part of that conversation of freedom that he probably wouldn't have had at other teams. Red Bull has always given him that permission. Red Bull, with all of their interests outside of Formula One and their desire to go and do exciting sports and allow their sporting stars to be sporting stars across whatever kind of categories they want to do, again, that's a freedom that he wouldn't have had probably at other teams.

13:12And you're in a very strong negotiating process when you're already there and you're renegotiating rather than negotiating from a complete standstill. it feels like they've given him everything he wanted we're hearing utterly ludicrous amounts of money that he'll be paid over the next four years but it feels to me that it's not it's not really about the money he's already made more than he can probably spend in a lifetime he's set up for life you know it's always been about the joy for max and the fun and actually just you know doing something that that he wants to do that's worth the time you know that's worth taking him away from his family and and the things that he loves to do when he's at home um so it feels like they've given him everything that he could possibly ask for the biggest one of those though mate is that is that promise of rebuilding and bringing in the right people or or promoting from within the right people maybe a record maybe it's an equal part recognition of Max that regardless of what the public see on the outside of the people leaving he believes that the strength in depth that that team the strength in depth that Milton Keynes and the people coming through the system actually have given their wings and allowed the chance to fly there's a brain trust there that can take him back to the front yeah I think it will absolutely be that they've got the facilities they've got a new wind tunnel coming on yes less of of the the cars are actually developed in wind tunnels nowadays but they're still a very good proving proving ground uh in in a restricted testing world and yeah he he knows he knows the facilities and and the first year of their own power unit you've got to say they've done a pretty good job with that and all the sort of rumors of being the best engine seem to have dropped away uh out of the media of late but um yeah that journey will continue others will breathe a sigh of relief and it's a big opportunity for you know got Lawson popping up into into the the main team of course alongside Max this weekend because of Hadjo's injury yeah of course that gives Sonoda an opportunity to shine again in the RB so it's an exciting weekend ahead of what is the last Grand Prix in Zanvo and my hotel overlooks the circuit and there's a sea of people walking in the rain filling the fan zone of which I'm going to have to join them quite soon unfortunately or fortunately because we get cars on track Yeah man, it's going to be a great weekend great weekend and no better timing for Max to announce this and Red Bull to announce this than at the last Grand Prix certainly for the foreseeable future at Zandvoort as you said it will be a sigh of relief for some drivers regardless of the public protestations from George Russell yesterday that he knew his seat wasn't at risk if you're a driver as you've said DC where your contract's up and Max Verstappen is a free agent I think everyone's breathing easier today knowing that Max has signed up for the long term at Red Bull because anybody out there can lose their seat if Max Verstappen comes a knocking and agrees to go to your team then Max Verstappen's coming whether you like it or not the question mark we do have now though is the perennial issue that Red Bull have which is they have four seats and multiple drivers.

16:39We see that this weekend. Hadjar's injured. Okay, fine. We'll put Lawson in the main team. We'll bring Tsunoda back to Racing Bulls. There then is the question of Solov, who is doing brilliantly in Formula 2, and whoever then comes next. I think all three of their F1 drivers are actually doing a phenomenal job this year, and we've talked about this often. I think that Hadjar's been brilliant, and I think Lawson and Lindblad are a powerful and potent duo to have at Racing Bulls. I don't know why you would replace any of those three. And yet with Solov, there is somebody waiting in the wings who is proving to be very, very punchy in Formula 2.

17:15And so, you know, Red Bull as an outfit, as two teams, they've answered the biggest question and they've got the biggest piece of the puzzle locked in. They've now got to, you know, they've now got to think about those other three parts of the puzzle. And that's a trickier equation. Yeah, look, totally agree. all of those guys that are in the various seats, Hadjah alongside Max, I think has done a very, very good job handling that situation. I think the RB drivers both performing at a very high level. What I would say is that they're doing what's expected of them. They should be at a high level.

17:51They've been given the opportunity because they've been winners in the lower formula. And what Red Bull will be looking for is to future-proof. Yes, Max is signed until 2030. he could walk away 20-28 because he just goes yeah, thanks very much I know I had signed up but I've had enough, so the team have to future-proof let's say the talent scouts will be out there looking not for the good drivers or the great drivers, they're looking to find exceptional, because that's what Max is that's what Lewis is, that's what any of these guys that have won multiple world championships, they're exceptional so that's the goal of of the Red Bull Junior programme and those young drivers.

18:33But a good problem to have that they're all performing at a very high level. Very good problem to have. A lot of people will wonder what happens to Yuki Tsunoda next year and beyond. I'm hearing a lot of talk in the IndyCar paddock that Tsunoda's management are sniffing around a seat for 2027, Honda being one of the two engine manufacturers out here in IndyCar. Yuki's already tested in IndyCar at a Honda event where he met up with Sir Scott Dixon, who's a six-time champion over here in IndyCar, and he loved the experience. I think it's a long shot for him to get a seat in 2027, but interestingly, from 2028, Honda and Chevrolet as engine manufacturers over here, they each get a charter.

19:14So they themselves will enter a car from 2028 in IndyCar. I could see Sonoda getting that Honda entry in 2028, if indeed he doesn't get the seat in 2027. But if he does get the seat in 2027, it looks like it may come in place of Mick Schumacher. So it looks like it's going to be two F1-related guys fighting over a seat for the team which won the Indianapolis 500 this year, Maya Shank Racing. So that's where Tsunoda, as we understand it at the moment, may end up either in 27 or 28. Max Verstappen, obviously him and Red Bull, it's such a perfect relationship. You've seen it from the inside. You know it intrinsically inside and out.

19:56What is it about Max and Red Bull that works so well? What is it that makes it such a unique relationship, not just within the paddock at the moment, but potentially it's one of those kind of in the annals and history of Formula One. I'm not I'm not sure if there's ever been a relationship quite this safe for sort of Jim Clark and Lotus. there's nothing where the two felt so perfectly meshed together that you could never imagine you know a driver racing for anybody but yeah well i'll sum it up using the words of the late founder of red bull dietrich marishitz when i asked him as with my humble talent what he expected he said to me just be yourself so fast forward to winning his four world titles and vettel was true to himself.

20:51And then he followed, probably in admiration of Michael Schumacher, he followed his dream to Ferrari and it didn't lead to a world championship. Max is just being himself and that's what makes that relationship. And at that point, I'm going to have to say my good nights, allow you to continue your American dream and I'm off to get wet with all the other fans out here in Zambor. Wonderful stuff, mate. Grab an umbrella. Have a brilliant weekend. Appreciate you coming on, buddy. Send everyone my love and we'll see you soon, mate. Thanks, Will. All the best.

21:28Well, as DC runs to a sodden Zandvoort, time to remind you to sign up to the socials at UpToSpeedShow. You can email us uptospeedatglobal.com and please tune in for our next episode, which will be on Monday, reviewing the Dutch Grand Prix this weekend. And lots to talk about already this weekend as cars get back on track to start the second half of the 2026 F1 season. Thanks for listening, folks. We'll see you on Monday.

22:02This has been a global production.