Max Verstappen shuts down Red Bull exit talk: “There’s never been a reason to leave”

Max Verstappen has reiterated his desire to remain with Red Bull, stating “there has never been a reason to leave”.

Verstappen’s F1 future has been a hot topic following the fallout surrounding Christian Horner’s alleged inappropriate behaviour.

The reigning world champion’s father - Jos Verstappen - claimed that if Horner remained in his position of team principal, Red Bull risked being “torn apart”.

Jos was also seen talking to Toto Wolff during the Bahrain weekend when the drama surrounding Horner ensued, leading to intense speculation that Verstappen could replace Lewis Hamilton in 2025.

The rumours haven’t disappeared with Mercedes reportedly willing to wait for Verstappen.

It does seem though that Verstappen’s immediate future is at Red Bull, with Mercedes likely opting for Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

Speaking ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix, Verstappen told reporters that he’s “very happy” at his existing team.

"After 2021 I signed a long deal with the team,” he said. “The only thing I said from the beginning was that I wanted to have a quiet, peaceful environment.

“Lately we have been talking about the car, so I am very happy about that already.

“That's also how it should be. And of course as long as I am happy with the team, there has never been a reason to leave.”

Verstappen heads to Shanghai looking for his fourth victory of the 2024 F1 season.

The Shanghai International Circuit is one venue Verstappen has yet to win it, mainly down to the fact it’s not been on the calendar since 2019.

Despite not being a fan of the sprint format, Verstappen isn’t worried the shortened practice available to the teams will disrupt Red Bull this weekend.

"With the new cars of course there will be a little bit of the unknown," Verstappen added "Of course it is the same for everyone."

"We need to have a good FP1 where we don't have to fine-tune too much on the car. That will really help. Time will tell, I'm not too worried about it."