Verstappen extends Red Bull deal to 2030 as Domenicali declares F1 unimaginable without him

Max Verstappen has committed his future to Red Bull until the end of 2030, signing a contract extension that pushes back his previous expiry date by two years and puts to rest talk of an early departure from Formula 1. Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali welcomed the news at Zandvoort, saying he “cannot see Formula 1 without him.”

Speaking at the Dutch Grand Prix, Domenicali was effusive in his praise for the four-time world champion. “The news of Max staying in Red Bull for the next couple of years is a cherry on the cake for this weekend,” he said. “It’s great news. I’m very proud and happy because Max is a world champion, a world-class person that has a great personality in the sport.”

The extension had been far from certain earlier in 2026, when Verstappen expressed discontent with the direction of the new regulations. The situation shifted after Formula 1 committed to tweaks for 2027 — most notably increasing the reliance on internal combustion engine power — which aligned more closely with Verstappen’s preferences and ultimately persuaded him to see out the current regulation cycle with Red Bull.

Despite the positive off-track news, Verstappen’s on-track weekend at Zandvoort — a circuit where he won three consecutive races between 2021 and 2023 — has been difficult. Feeling “a bit flu-like”, the Dutchman finished sixth in the sprint race from sixth on the grid and qualified seventh for Sunday’s grand prix, five tenths behind polesitter Lando Norris. He will share the fourth row with team-mate Liam Lawson.

Verstappen was candid about the RB22’s shortcomings at the seaside circuit, suggesting the problems run deeper than set-up adjustments. “We changed quite a lot on the car after the sprint, but none of it made any difference,” he said. “The balance of the car is the biggest problem. It’s just not consistent throughout the entire corner, but it has been like that all season. It’s just a little worse at some circuits than at others.”

He added that Zandvoort’s fast corners expose the car’s fundamental weaknesses. “We’re now simply more limited by some fundamental problems with the car that we need to solve. If you don’t have a good balance, you can’t really attack the corners and if you don’t have traction either, you can’t get out of the corners properly, so all of that costs time.”

The contract announcement ensures Verstappen remains the sport’s marquee name through to the end of the decade, even as Red Bull continues to search for the performance gains needed to challenge at the front of the grid.