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"I don’t think Max is going to stay with Red Bull for rest of his career"
- GPblog.com
Max Verstappen announced immediately after winning his first world title in Abu Dhabi that he wanted to continue racing for Red Bull Racing for the next 10 years. The 25-year-old Dutchman reinforced his statements by signing a contract in March 2022 that ties him to the Austrian racing stable until 2028. It has not been ruled out that Verstappen will stay with Red Bull for the rest of his life, although Mika Hakkinen does not think it will come to that.
However, Hakkinen knows that the great performance of the RB16B and RB18 do not guarantee future success. “It’s great Max is committed and signs long contracts. It shows he trusts them. But there is always that risk when key people leave, the car performance doesn’t match expectations, that’s when the driver starts to think, whether it’s time to change teams."
Does Verstappen ever sign anywhere else?
The Finn, who himself was twice Formula 1 world champion, expects Verstappen to change teams at least once more during his Formula 1 career. "I don’t think Max is going to stay with Red Bull for the rest of his career. But this is just my opinion. Historically, drivers have switched teams – despite having multiple championships – for different reasons, whether it’s money or just wanting to go somewhere else," Hakkinen told Unibet.
Verstappen is tied up with Red Bull until the age of 31. However, that does not mean he will actually continue to race for the Austrian team until 2028. There is a huge chance, of course, but Verstappen reportedly does have clauses allowing him to get out of his contract the moment Red Bull is no longer competitive in the premier class of motorsport.