Max Verstappen has been a Red Bull trooper for seven years now. Ever since he joined the team back in 2016, he has been loyal to the Milton-Keynes-based team brigade. Following his arrival on the team, he had to wait five years before taking a shot at the championship. But in that duration, he thought about leaving the team multiple times as per a recent report by De Telegraaf.
Verstappen and Red Bull have become synonymous together; compatible to the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes or Michael Schumacher and Ferrari. Together they won two driver’s championships and one Constructors’ championship.
But before all the success came their way, the Dutchman had thoughts of departing with the team multiple times. But fortunately for both parties, the now 25-year-old did not act upon these thoughts.
Max Verstappen on his thoughts on leaving Red Bull
Verstappen has been in an interview session with the Dutch news media The Telegraph recently. There the Red Bull driver talked about his life at Red Bull and why it isn’t as fun as people think it is.
However, during the interview, he was asked if he ever thought of leaving the Austrian team. To which the two-time world champion said, “Not that. But I did think: will it still work here? But we always got back together in the end. A lot has happened within the team over the years.”
A perfect weekend in Spa 🇧🇪 We’ve been on it from start to finish @redbullracing 💪 The car was great 🚀
Thank you Orange Army, your support has been unreal 🙌 #BelgianGP pic.twitter.com/05mFAL5FWG
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) July 30, 2023
Following this, he went on to add what made him stay. “Just look at the switch of engine supplier, from Renault to Honda, and how they are now working on their engine. There was always something to look forward to. That was the deciding factor to extend my contract.”
The decision by the Dutch driver seemed to have paid off as Verstappen is closing in on the longest winning streak ever. If he manages to win his home race next weekend, he will surpass Sebastian Vettel’s record.
Verstappen, Red Bull, and the current dominance
Max Verstappen has been incredibly dominant this season. He picked up 10 wins out of 12 races so far and has eight back-to-back winning streaks. With this, he helped Red Bull to have a mighty 13-race winning streak.
𝐗 wins for Max in 2023 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 pic.twitter.com/oqL6pSYT1m
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) August 14, 2023
Given how mighty the Red Bull challengers look from here, chances are Verstappen will continue to dominate till 2025. Even after a year and a half, the rivals failed to catch up to the incredible straight-line speed and mammoth DRS of the RB-19.
In the end, Verstappen’s thought of leaving the team hasn’t entirely gone away. If Red Bull Racing fails to make a dominant car such as the current one after the 2026 regulations, chances are that their star driver will leave the sport, instead of returning to the midfield all over again.
