Verstappen responds to more questions about his F1 future as he insists change of teams ‘not on my mind’

Max Verstappen has stated that he is “happy where I’m at” amid continued speculation over his Formula 1 future, with the Red Bull driver insisting a change of teams is “not on my mind”.

Verstappen holds a deal to race for the Milton Keynes team through 2028 but off-track noise earlier this year and the impending exit of star designer Adrian Newey has brought his future plans under the spotlight.

READ MORE: Verstappen reveals what he said to Newey before confirmation of star designer’s Red Bull exit

Following the announcement of Newey’s planned departure, Verstappen publicly expressed his intention to remain with Red Bull, providing that “the environment is right and we have the quickest car”.

But at the Monaco Grand Prix, Verstappen was asked to revisit those comments given McLaren’s race-winning form in Miami and similarly strong pace in Imola, and whether this had made him think any more about swapping his current surroundings.

“Well, it doesn’t work like that,” Verstappen countered. “I mean, I think we still have a very, very fast car, and if you look at the average of the season so far, I think we do have the fastest car. Otherwise, you’re not leading the championship.

READ MORE: Horner addresses Verstappen contract claim after confirmation of Newey's Red Bull exit

“But I’m happy where I’m at. There’s so much investment going on as well with the engine side of things [at Red Bull Powertrains], and I’m happy. We just need to keep on working, keep on trying to improve our package.

“But yeah, that’s the only thing that I’m thinking about at the moment. I mean, I think if you start thinking like that, you can almost change at one point every single race if you want to change to another team or whatever. But it’s not on my mind.”

As he touched on, Verstappen and Red Bull remain the benchmark so far this season, having claimed seven pole positions and five race wins from eight Grands Prix, with the Dutchman pushing to make it a fourth drivers’ title on the bounce.

READ MORE: Verstappen reflects on lowly P6 finish in Monaco GP as he takes one ‘positive’ from painful weekend

However, Charles Leclerc’s breakthrough home victory in Monte Carlo saw Verstappen’s championship lead cut to 31 points, while Ferrari are now just 24 points behind Red Bull in the constructors’ standings.