Max Verstappen hints he will ignore Mercedes and Aston Martin interest

Max Verstappen says he wants to stay at Red Bull “forever” after being linked with F1 rivals Mercedes and Aston Martin.

The newly-crowned four-time world champion was publicly courted earlier this year by Mercedes and has also been linked with potentially teaming up with legendary F1 designer Adrian Newey when he moves from Red Bull to Aston Martin.

But Verstappen, who is under contract with Red Bull until the end of 2028, insists he has no intention of leaving the Milton Keynes squad.

The Dutchman also downplayed the notion he would need to win a world title elsewhere to cement his legacy as one of the greatest of all time.

“It is not like I need to try to win the world championship somewhere else,” Verstappen told PA ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix.

“That is not a desire from my side. I am just happy where I am at. And it would also be very beautiful if you just could stay with one team and race there forever. I would like to believe [that could be Red Bull]. That is the target."

When Verstappen's future was questioned earlier this year, amind Red Bull's internal wranglings surrounding Christian Horner, rivals cast an eye.

Mercedes' Toto Wolff was the most keen on pursuing him, irking his rival Horner.

However, Mercedes do now have George Russell and Kimi Antonelli for 2025 and beyond who could become a long-time duo.

Aston Martin were linked to Verstappen after bringing in his Red Bull colleague Newey.

But Aston Martin's competitiveness, even with Newey on board, is yet to be proven.

But, Verstappen has now made the clearest hint yet that he will stay put.