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Max Verstappen says he is “feeling good” about his place in Formula 1 as he detailed his mindset about Red Bull and the regulations heading into the summer break.
Verstappen and Red Bull have not had an easy ride this year with a RB22 chassis that has fallen short of expectations and has been tricky to set up and drive. At the same time Red Bull-Ford Powertrains delivered above expectations with its first-ever power unit, although its place atop the pecking order of the convoluted ADUO upgrade system means Red Bull isn’t allowed to improve its engine.
As Red Bull heads into the summer break winless and fourth in the standings, which could see Verstappen trigger get-out clauses from his 2028 deal, the other concern has been the Dutchman’s bitter discontent with the 2026 power unit regulations, which has been another element to take into account as he weighs up his future.
Despite the usual mid-season speculation around Verstappen’s future, little appears to have moved in recent weeks, and with few credible alternatives the expectation is that the four-time world champion will simply stay put at Red Bull for another year.
As he heads into the summer break, Verstappen has offered the latest insight into his thinking, suggesting he can easily walk away tomorrow if he wanted to, but that he’s still keen to keep racing on. In that regard Verstappen is still in a different place than 45-year-old veteran Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, who said his enjoyment of the regulations will play a big role in deciding his future.
“Of course, Fernando is 45, so it’s probably a bit easier for him to say: ‘I quit,'” Verstappen said. “But as a real racer, it’s tough, especially when you’re not enjoying the regulations and you’re not competitive at the moment. Fernando, of course, doesn’t deserve to be in P21.
Lando Norris, McLaren, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing
Photo by: Zak Mauger / LAT Images via Getty Images
“I’m of course 28 years old, so it’s a little bit different. I mean, of course I can easily stop, it’s not a problem, but I love racing, and I’m just trying to deal with what we have, even though what we have at the moment is not what I like.”
The two sticking points for Verstappen are still the same, with some hope that both Red Bull’s own performance and F1’s controversial regulations, which will be tweaked further for 2027, can be improved enough for an extended stay in the series to be desirable. But speaking on the eve of the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend, Verstappen insisted his focus was squarely on the former.
A confusing Budapest weekend in which Verstappen and team-mate Isack Hadjar both struggled for confidence in an unpredictable car, but Verstappen still had strong race pace to finish second, perfectly encapsulated Red Bull’s 2026 campaign.
“I am feeling good from my side, but I’m saying that there is nothing to say because there is nothing going on,” Verstappen explained. “I’m just focused on trying to get the most out of the car and that’s already complicated enough to deal with.
“This team is like a second family to me. I’m just trying to understand our car a bit better, and get back to winning ways. We’ve been close one weekend, I hope of course a little bit more often than just one weekend, but like I said before, it’s definitely on an upward trend, so that’s good to see.”
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– The Autosport.com Team
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