Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsToro Rosso

Verstappen expects to keep F1 seat even if Red Bull quits

Max Verstappen believes he has impressed enough in his first season in F1 to get another seat if Red Bull quits the sport.

Dietrich Mateschitz has put a deadline of the end of October on securing a new power unit deal for Red Bull and Toro Rosso, warning he will quit if he is left with an uncompetitive engine. Such a scenario would leave Verstappen without a seat for next season, but asked if he fears for his F1 future, he replied: “I’m not afraid.

"I know I have a contract for some more years, so even if they pull out we have to wait and see what happens, but I’m not fearing that I won’t be in F1.”

Following an impressive first season, Verstappen believes he has impressed other teams enough to be approached if he became available.

“You always walk around and talk with people, just friendly, and I think lately hopefully I showed good performance and that helps, so we have to wait and see.”

And Verstappen says he doesn't need to seek out other options in the sport just in case Red Bull pulls out.

“I’m not looking around, I’m very happy with Red Bull. They did a lot for me and because of them I’m here, so for me there is no reason to look around. If they pull out then you have to do something, but for the moment there are no signs for me that they will stop so I am very happy where I am."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.