General
So Max Verstappen is definitely staying at Red Bull? He doesn't say that at all!
- Ludo van Denderen
Max Verstappen spoke to the media last Thursday, on the eve of the third Miami Grand Prix. It was perfectly understandable that Verstappen expressed his disappointment at Adrian Newey's announced departure at every microphone he encountered. Equally logical were the questions from the media, whether Verstappen was tying his own future at Red Bull to the departure of the master designer? Although Verstappen seemed to say he wanted to stay at Red Bull, he himself still caused speculation again with some interjections or separate remarks.
For those who would doubt it: Max Verstappen is no fool. The Dutchman knows exactly which words to use as soon as he talks to the media. He is well aware of the impact his statements have, how they might be interpreted differently and therefore always weighs up his words. So when Verstappen is asked whether Newey's departure will affect his own future at the racing stable, and he says: "Well, my future is within Red Bull at the moment," that is not a slip of the tongue.
Verstappen holds back
Yes, Verstappen wants most of all to stay at Red Bull - the team that have brought him to where he is today. But with the three words 'at the moment', the 26-year-old driver continues to keep a guard up. Not for the first time, probably not for the last, as the turmoil within Red Bull Racing continues.
The 'at this moment' is exactly what Toto Wolff is sticking to. The CEO and team principal of Mercedes F1 is hoping to entice Verstappen to transfer to his team, reportedly for a huge chunk of money. For a moment, Verstappen seemed to dash all hope for Wolff, with a sentence like, "Because I know myself that if I would be driving for P5 or P6, you get quite grumpy with yourself."
But barely a few seconds later, Verstappen also did not want to say to Wolff: 'There's no point in waiting for me, I'm staying at Red Bull for sure'. What Verstappen did say is: "No, because I think everyone should always be optimistic and hopeful in things. But at the moment (here are these three words again, red.), I can say that I want to stay with the team because I believe in the project that we have with everyone involved. But at the end of the day, in sports but also in life, you don't know what's going to happen in the future."
Verstappen does not say everything he thinks
Plenty of Red Bull fans will nevertheless now say: 'You see, Max Verstappen is definitely staying with Red Bull and the fuss is about nothing'. It is an interpretation, but whether it is the right one? Verstappen himself keeps building in all sorts of caveats. Added to that is a final statement during Thursday's interesting press interview: "Well, at the end of the day, I also learned not to always say everything in the media. Because it doesn't benefit anyone. It doesn't benefit myself. It doesn't benefit the team. And at the end of the day, it will also not benefit to anyone around in the paddock. So I don't always need to say everything that I have in my mind."