When Max Verstappen took his seat on the red sofa for Thursday afternoon’s official FIA press conference, it was immediately clear what the next half hour would largely revolve around.
Earlier that morning, Verstappen had announced a collaboration with McLaren junior Dries Van Langendonck, but most of those in attendance were interested in something else: Verstappen’s own future and the rumours linking him to McLaren.
Those rumours are, in essence, nothing new. But they have gained more traction on social media since Silverstone, largely because of what has become known as “vaguetweeting”. In one particular case, it was clear to insiders from the very beginning that the post referred to Scott Dixon’s move to Arrow McLaren in IndyCar, although it still managed to send many fans down the wrong path.
As for the F1 rumours, McLaren has never denied holding talks with Verstappen either, allowing the story to continue simmering in the background. Media day at Spa did nothing to change that, not least because Verstappen himself had no intention of putting an end to the speculation.
He had decided not to say anything about it at all, something that became obvious as soon as F1 presenter Tom Clarkson tried to broach the subject during the opening part of the FIA press conference.
Question: Let’s talk off track. There’s been yet more speculation about your future in recent days, recent weeks. Is there any update you can give us?
Verstappen: No.
Question: And what do you make of the speculation?
Verstappen: Nothing.
Question: Do you have a date in mind?
Verstappen: No, there’s nothing to say from my side.
Question: So full commitment to Red Bull for 2027?
Verstappen: I said there’s nothing to say.
On Thursday, Verstappen spoke at length about van Langendonck, but declined to comment on his own future
Photo by: Speedpictures
After the press conference, it was time for Verstappen’s Dutch media session in the paddock, but there too he immediately made his position clear.
When one of the Dutch journalists jokingly remarked that during the session Verstappen would mainly be grilled about his future, he instantly replied: “I’m not going to say anything about it anyway, so it would be over pretty quickly!”
Later in the session, the question was subtly raised whether Verstappen had at least made his decision privately. The four-time world champion insisted that was not the case.
“No, I’m just busy trying to make sure we take the right steps here,” he said. “Outside of that, I had my sister’s wedding as well, so everything will come naturally. That’s always been the case.”
He added there is no deadline in his mind to provide clarity: “No, not necessarily.”
It is well known that the exit clause in Verstappen’s contract relates to his position in the championship standings in August, although he is not required to inform Red Bull of any decision before October. Given the current championship standings, Verstappen is able to activate that clause this year, unlike last season, although manager Raymond Vermeulen has already explained that the mere existence of the clause does not automatically mean the Verstappens intend to use it.
Verstappen says that he hasn’t yet made a decision about his future himself and that he has no deadline to do so
Photo by: James Sutton / Formula 1 / Formula Motorsport Ltd via Getty Images
Earlier this year, Red Bull asked Verstappen to publicly commit his future to the team, but, just like the request to buy out his exit clause, the Dutchman quite logically has no interest in doing so.
When asked about it, Verstappen insisted he does not feel pressured by Red Bull: “No, they can’t really put pressure on me anyway. We just take it step by step. All our conversations are basically about the car and how we can improve the car. In that respect, the atmosphere is exactly as it has always been, and that’s how it should be.”
Those conversations about Red Bull’s lack of performance did take place over the past week. After retiring from the British Grand Prix, Verstappen said he had no desire to have a proper discussion with the team for a few days, although that was partly down to the frustration he felt at the time.
“On Wednesday I was already back in the simulator. It’s just that when you get out of the car at that moment, you’ve had enough of it because you’ve gone off for the second time due to a similar issue,” Verstappen said, referring to the rotating rear wing that Red Bull isn’t using this weekend.
“I also know that the team is doing everything it can to solve these things, and they obviously don’t enjoy seeing those crashes either. It’s just frustrating when it happens. But by Wednesday I was back in the simulator, so the work simply continues.”
That day also included discussions about another topic Verstappen highlighted at Silverstone: his feeling that Red Bull has not been listening enough to him. He had already raised that point in Canada and repeated it again after the British GP.
Verstappen has spoken to Red Bull on Wednesday, also about his feeling that the team is not listening to him enough
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images
“They’ve looked into a lot of things and have come to conclusions on certain aspects. Other things are still a bit harder to understand. But everything I’ve said has been taken on board and we’ve talked about it,” he said.
“But when I come back to the factory on a day like that, I’m not going to say: ‘You guys are not listening to me’ or things like that. That’s not how those conversations go.”
In that sense, the air appears to have been cleared and Verstappen begins another race weekend with renewed optimism – even though he knows Spa will be challenging for Red Bull. But during the media day, what he did not say was arguably more interesting than what he did.
As much as Verstappen may dislike all the speculation surrounding his future, he currently has no incentive to put an end to it. It either serves as valuable leverage with Red Bull or provides the opportunity to genuinely explore his options elsewhere.
Last year, the saga effectively came to an end during media day in Hungary. For now, however, Verstappen is not at that stage yet – regardless of what he ultimately wants to do next year – and that is certainly not to his disadvantage.
