Max Verstappen claims even ‘$250 million’ Mercedes offer won’t make him leave Red Bull

Verstappen has scored multiple dominant race wins since the beginning of the groud-effect era. Compared to this, Mercedes scored only one victory in the 2022 season. Hence, the reigning world champion highlighted that racing for P5 or P6 made him ‘grumpy’. The entire sport all came down to performance in the end. Even the team principal Toto Wolff was aware of this and hence a late-season move for the 26-year-old is likely impossible.

If you're driving for P5 or P6 you get quite grumpy. It's always about performances at the end of the day, everyone knows that and Toto also knows that. Max Verstappen noted.

Max Verstappen not alarmed by Adrian Newey’s exit

After Newey’s departure, Max Verstappen emphasized the need to have the quickest car. The reigning world champion mentioned that at the end of the day Red Bull had a great crew. Moreover, Verstappen stated Austrian team strived for success and the strong group of people in the team wasn’t talked about much in the media.

No, not at the moment. Like I said before, I think it’s important to always have the quickest car, because that makes it a lot easier to think about what is right. Max Verstappen said, as reported by formula1.com.

Additionally, Max Verstappen highlighted that a good environment with the team was also necessary. The three-time world champion with Milton Keynes currently has no plans to leave the Austrian team. However, the escalating tensions within the Austrian team could potentially impact his decision in the future.

It’s really important about having the quickest car, and of course a good environment. That’s what we have currently, and that’s also what I asked for. As long as the environment is right and we have the quickest car, then it’s quite straightforward. Max Verstappen concluded.

Red Bull’s success in the ground-effect era can be attributed to Adrian Newey highly. However, the Englishman’s exit wouldn’t have much effect in the 2025 season. The regulation changes of the 2026 season would be highly exciting for the sport. As the Austrian team loses its most important technical figure before the rule change.