维斯塔潘与红牛续约至2030年，转会传闻平息
马克斯·维斯塔潘确认与红牛车队签订新合同，将再效力三个F1赛季至2030年，终结了他可能转投梅赛德斯或迈凯轮的传闻。
马克斯·维斯塔潘（维斯塔潘）的新合同对红牛和他的一级方程式未来意味着什么？我们的作者们发表了自己的看法。
这是对劳伦特·梅基斯（Laurent Mekies）的信任投票，还是他唯一真正的选择？我们的作者们对这位荷兰车手续约一纸F1合同发表了他们的评判。
马克斯·维斯塔潘（维斯塔潘），红牛车队，劳伦特·梅基斯（Laurent Mekies），红牛车队领队
关于他惊人转投梅赛德斯或迈凯伦的疯狂传闻于今晨烟消云散，马克斯·维斯塔潘确认签署新合同，将继续留在红牛车队再战三个一级方程式赛季。
这位荷兰车手宣布与红牛签订一份持续到F1当前时代结束的2030年的新合同，从而终结了关于他对车队的信任以及对F1的热爱的一切猜测……至少目前是这样。
但这份新合同对维斯塔潘、红牛和一级方程式意味着什么？我们的撰稿人分享了对这次签约的看法。
去年，新上任的车队领队洛朗·梅基斯接手了红牛的一个艰难局面，要对抗一个正在崩塌的帝国的叙事——关键人物正在陆续逃离，包括设计传奇阿德里安·纽维、体育总监乔纳森·惠特利和策略主管威尔·科特尼。
红牛在2025年末的翻身，当时维斯塔潘极其接近从迈凯伦车手手中抢走世界冠军，缓解了一些这样的担忧。但维斯塔潘的亲密盟友詹皮耶罗·兰比亚斯签下合同将于2028年前转投迈凯伦，这几乎没有打消这样的看法：即便红牛这艘船还不算正在下沉，至少也已经进了大量的水。
2026赛季的开局也不太顺利，红牛在赛车研发上落后，目前在车队积分榜上排名第四，同时在F1的政治动力单元博弈中被对手占了上风。
但将车队的四届世界冠军再锁定两年，是梅基斯的一大筹码。让这位荷兰车手留在车队，对红牛的长期雄心至关重要，也表明人们对梅基斯演进车队技术体系的计划抱有一定信心。
维斯塔潘留下的消息并不令人意外，但两年的续约在一定程度上出乎意料。新合同的细节尚未披露，但最合理的结果是，维斯塔潘将因延长效力而获得丰厚报酬，而红牛很可能会通过比以往安排更有利于车队的性能条款换来这份承诺——此前的安排曾让维斯塔潘的去留每年夏天都变成一场闹剧。
证明迈凯伦传闻只是谈判筹码
F1圈内的“评论家们”整个夏天都在社交媒体上争先恐后地声称掌握维斯塔潘即将转会迈凯伦的独家内幕消息。但对于真正了解情况的人来说，这显然是一场精心策划的虚张声势。
原因在于，乔治·拉塞尔和刘易斯·汉密尔顿已经满足了现有“2+1”合同中的表现条款，使梅赛德斯和法拉利能够触发“+1”部分，将合同延续至2027年底。由于这只是现有合同的执行机制，而不是新合同或附加延期，因此没有任何公开公告就顺利完成了。
鉴于夏尔·勒克莱尔和基米·安东内利的位置也已稳固，这堵死了维斯塔潘最有可能的转会去向。那么，他的经纪团队能做些什么来从红牛那里争取到最有利的条件呢？
自2024年初红牛从之前的主导地位骤然下滑以来，维斯塔潘及其管理层一直奉行“欲擒故纵”的策略，经常通过荷兰媒体上的“御用写手”放风，称维斯塔潘的合同中含有对他非常有利的表现条款，可以让他提前离队。
但离开还需要一个说得过去的目的地。通往梅赛德斯和法拉利的路都被堵死了，迈凯伦便不得不充当谈判筹码——于是有关这位荷兰车手与皮亚斯特里互换座位的传闻就被凭空炮制了出来。
起初，迈凯伦摆出一副暗自觉得好笑、默许纵容的姿态，因为上个赛季车队与Piastri的经纪团队关系变得紧张，所以放任这些传闻发酵，正好可以借此把Mark Webber及其团队压回他们的位置上。但传闻非但没有平息，反而愈演愈烈——部分原因是某些人喜欢向社交媒体的回音室里投放消息、以期抬高自己声望的恼人习惯。于是迈凯伦开始踩刹车。
另外，有消息传出——当然不是通过那些惯常的荷兰媒体渠道——‘Team Max’真正想要的，除了保证赛车性能会提升之外，还包括车队本身的股权。这可是一个很高的要求——事实上，这正是让前车队领队Christian Horner的雄心撞得粉碎的那块礁石。
因此，才需要让这些传闻一直延续到夏休期，远超它们本应自然偃旗息鼓的时间。所以现在的问题是：Max得到他想要的了吗？
进一步的问题：这对马克斯·维斯塔潘的业余赛车活动是帮助还是阻碍？
我同意Fil的观点，维斯塔潘决定留在红牛本身并不令人意外，但续约对双方来说都是一个明确的表态。虽然小红牛22至今还没有赢得过比赛，但它在这一年里有了显著进步，红牛似乎对'26年规则的要求有了更好的把握。也许维斯塔潘被进步的速度所鼓舞。也许Mekies向他提出了一个长期规划。也许他的薪水后面又多加了几个零……
我的同事们已经很好地谈到了维斯塔潘这份续约在F1方面的意义。所以，我的问题是：这会如何影响这位荷兰车手在跑车赛和耐力赛领域的业余探索——新合同是否提供了更多余地，以及红牛作为一个品牌可能提供的进一步支持？
尽管NLS和纽博格林24小时耐力赛的长期车迷们会说这些赛事一直以来都非常好看、值得追随，但维斯塔潘的到来对纽博格林GT赛场的影响是不可估量的。他本人在GT3比赛中的表现，看起来完全摆脱了F1的压力束缚，并享受着投身于一个陌生领域的过程。而且他在这方面也确实非常、非常擅长，这大概也有帮助……
他在今年纽博格林24小时耐力赛上的表现令人惊叹，以至于数百万人都为他可能在大型耐力赛事中的进一步亮相而兴奋——也许是勒芒？戴通纳？巴瑟斯特？还是英国割草机赛车12小时赛？只要让他坐进一辆赛车（或者割草机），车迷们就会成群结队地前来观看他开拓新的领域。
但由于（姑且这么说）重新将重心放在F1上，维斯塔潘还有余力去探索那些比赛吗？我当然希望如此，但由于勒芒似乎执意与F1赛事时间冲突，想在拉萨尔特看到他像尼科·霍肯伯格那样登场，感觉不太可能。不过理论上仍有一扇敞开的大门：福特的LMDh赛车将于明年进入世界耐力锦标赛，而红牛与福特的关系可能成为维斯塔潘在其他类别赛事中实现愿望的通道。
我们只能希望新合同能带给这位四届世界冠军更多的自由，让他能出现在以前未曾涉足的领域。每当他尝试新的东西时，都会带来两个效果：其一，加深我们对这位赛车界最伟大天才之一的欣赏；其二，彰显他作为多学科全才的地位，宛如吉姆·克拉克、格拉汉姆·希尔等前辈……
英文原文
What does Max Verstappen's new contract say about Red Bull and his F1 future? Our writers have their say
A show of faith in Laurent Mekies or his only real option – our writers share their verdict on the Dutchman's F1 contract renewal
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Laurent Mekies, Red Bull Racing Team Principal
The wild rumours of a shock switch to Mercedes or McLaren were silenced this morning when Max Verstappen confirmed a new deal to stay with Red Bull for a further three Formula 1 seasons.
The Dutchman announced a new contract with Red Bull that runs until the end of F1’s current era in 2030, putting an end to any speculation swirling about his trust in the team and his love for F1... for now.
But what does the new deal mean for Verstappen, Red Bull and Formula 1? Our writers share their verdict on the signing.
Last year, incoming team principal Laurent Mekies inherited a tricky position at Red Bull, fighting against the narrative of a crumbling empire that key figures were gradually running away from – including the likes of design legend Adrian Newey, sporting director Jonathan Wheatley and strategy chief Will Courtenay.
Red Bull's late 2025 turnaround, when Verstappen came remarkably close to snatching the world championship away from the McLaren drivers, allayed some of those fears. But Verstappen's close ally Gianpiero Lambiase signing a deal to move to McLaren by 2028 did little to dispel the notion that, if not a sinking ship, Red Bull's vessel had at least taken on a copious amount of water.
The start to the 2026 season hasn't gone particularly well either, with Red Bull behind on car development as it sits fourth in the championship, while being outmanoeuvred in F1's political power unit games.
But tying down the team's four-time world championship for another two years is a huge string to Mekies' bow. Having the Dutchman on board will be instrumental to Red Bull's long-term ambitions, and a sign that there is a modicum of faith in Mekies' plans to evolve the team's technical set-up.
News of Verstappen staying put isn't a big surprise, but the two-year extension is, at least to some extent. The details of the new contract are yet to emerge, but the most logical outcome is that Verstappen will be richly remunerated for his extended commitment, while Red Bull will likely have bought that commitment with performance clauses that are more team-friendly than the previous arrangement, which turned Verstappen's future into a circus act every summer.
Proof that McLaren rumours were a negotiating tactic
Formula 1’s chattering classes spent the summer falling over each other on social media claiming exclusive insider knowledge of Verstappen’s imminent move to McLaren. But it was patently obvious to those really in the know that this was an elaborate bluff.
The reason for this is that George Russell and Lewis Hamilton had already met performance clauses in their existing ‘two plus one’ contracts enabling Mercedes and Ferrari to trigger the ‘plus one’ elements, taking them through to the end of 2027. Since these were simply the mechanics of existing contracts, rather than new ones or bolt-on extensions, they passed without any public announcements.
Given Charles Leclerc and Kimi Antonelli were also secure, that closed off the most likely moves Max would make. So, what could his management team do to secure the most advantageous terms from Red Bull.
Ever since RBR’s precipitous fall from its previously dominant position in early 2024, Verstappen and his management have pursued a “treat ‘em mean, keep ‘em keen” strategy, regularly putting it out there via client scribblers in the Dutch media that Verstappen’s contract features performance clauses very much in his favour that could allow him to leave ahead of term.
But departing also requires a plausible destination. With the routes to Mercedes and Ferrari closed off, McLaren had to serve as the negotiating lever – and so rumours of the Dutchman swapping places with Oscar Piastri were conjured into existence.
At first, McLaren affected a position of quietly amused complicity, since its relations with Piastri’s management grew fractious last season, so entertaining these rumours served to put Mark Webber and his team back in their box. But instead of going away, the rumours intensified – partly as a result of the irksome habit of some individuals to feed the social media echo chamber in the hope of boosting their own profiles. Hence McLaren began to apply the brakes.
Separately, word got around – not via the usual Dutch outlets, of course – that what ‘Team Max’ was really looking for, beyond assurances that car performance would improve, was equity in the team itself. That’s a big ask – indeed, it’s the rock upon which former team principal Christian Horner’s ambition crashed.
Hence the need to keep the rumours going into the summer break, long after they would have organically spluttered out. So, the question now is: did Max get what he wanted?
Further questions: does it help or hinder Max Verstappen's extra-curricular racing?
I agree with Fil's sentiment that Verstappen's decision to stay with Red Bull isn't surprising in itself, but an extension is very much a statement from both sides. Although the RB22 is yet to win a race, it has improved significantly through the year and Red Bull appears to be getting more of a handle on the demands of the '26 regs. Perhaps Verstappen was enthused by the rate of progress. Perhaps Mekies approached him with a long-term game plan. Perhaps a few extra zeroes were added to his salary...
My colleagues have perfectly addressed the F1 side of Verstappen's extended deal. So, my question is this: how does this affect the Dutchman's extra-curricular exploration in sportscars and endurance racing - does the new deal offer more leeway, and potentially further support from Red Bull as a brand?
As much as long-time followers of the NLS and the Nurburgring 24 Hours will state that these series have always been great to watch and follow, the impact of Verstappen's arrival across the Nurburgring GT scene is immeasurable. The man himself has looked unshackled from the demands of F1 in his GT3 outings, and has enjoyed throwing himself into an unfamiliar discipline. It probably helps that he's also really, really good at it...
His performance at this year's Nurburgring 24 Hours was dazzling, to the point where millions were excited about potential further appearances in the big enduro events - Le Mans, perhaps? Daytona? Bathurst? The British Lawnmower Racing 12 Hours? Put him a car (or a mower) and fans will turn up in their droves to watch him explore a new frontier.
But with a, let's say, renewed focus on F1, does Verstappen still have the leeway to explore those races? I certainly would hope so but, with Le Mans seemingly committed to clashing with F1 events, the notion of seeing a Nico Hulkenberg-esque turn at La Sarthe feels a touch unlikely. There is a theoretical open door, given Ford's LMDh car is due to enter the World Endurance Championship next year, and the Red Bull-Ford relationship could be a gateway towards Verstappen's wish-fulfilment motives in other categories.
We can but hope the new deal gives the four-time champion a bit more freedom to crop up in previously uncharted waters. Every time he tries his hand at something new, it does two things: one, adds to our appreciation for one of racing's greatest talents, and two, underlines his status as a multi-discipline throwback, a la Jim Clark, Graham Hill, et al...
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