Max puts brakes on to Mercedes rumours for now

MAX VERSTAPPEN has finally confirmed he will stick with Red Bull — for now.

- By Daniel Moxon

The fourctime Formula One champion has been linked with a switch to rivals Mercedes for months.

And the speculation only increased when Christian Horner, below, was axed last month after 20 years in charge of Red Bull.

Verstappen has been asked several times in recent weeks if he could say definitively that he would stick with the team for 2026, and consistently refused to give a straight answer.

But that changed in Budapest yesterday when he said: “It’s time to basically stop all the rumours.

“For me, it’s always been quite clear that I was staying anyway.

“Pve never really said anything about it.

“[ was just focused on talking to the team about how we can improve our performance.