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Sky Sports F1 lead commentator David Croft has revealed what his ‘sources’ have said about Max Verstappen’s future amid ‘talks’ with McLaren.
So far in the 2026 Formula 1 season, Verstappen’s future has been a hot topic, with uncertainty growing over whether the 28-year-old will continue in the sport.
Earlier in the season, it was claimed that Verstappen could retire from F1 due to the sport’s new regulations, which the four-time world champion has heavily criticised on multiple occasions.
In recent weeks, the attention has shifted towards whether Verstappen will stay with Red Bull, amid the team’s poor start to the 2026 campaign.
On Friday, it was reported that Verstappen had held talks with McLaren about a potential move that could happen in 2027, which would see Oscar Piastri vacate his seat.
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David Croft says ‘sources’ indicate Max Verstappen will ‘probably’ stay with Red Bull
During the Sky Sports F1 live broadcast of FP1, lead commentator Croft spoke about the latest development in the never-ending Verstappen saga.
He revealed that his ‘sources’ have indicated that Verstappen ‘probably will’ end up staying with Red Bull, but did mention that there is ‘an option’ to potentially join McLaren.
Croft said: “The big rumour this weekend is that Max Verstappen might be off as well. McLaren have suddenly popped up again in these stories.
“There may be a bit of truth in McLaren wanting a dialogue with Max Verstappen, there is certainly a bit of truth in the Verstappen camp looking at options outside of Red Bull.
“There’s a bit more truth in Max wanting to stay at Red Bull and see out his career with the team and the organisation that brought him into F1 and allowed him to continue and has had so much success with.
“It’s the big story, isn’t it? Is Max going to stay with Red Bull or not? Now, my sources indicate he probably will, but there is potentially an option there, so what keeps him at Red Bull and what would take him to McLaren if a seat were available?”
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In response, former F1 strategy engineer Bernie Collins stated that Red Bull have to convince Verstappen that they can give him the best tools to succeed.
Collins mentioned that Verstappen will be questioning whether he can see the development happening at Red Bull and whether the team will be capable of challenging at the front of the grid.
She also alluded to the fact that Red Bull have experienced several high-profile exits and are in need of a ‘rebuild’.
McLaren are believed to be in the best position to lure Verstappen away from Red Bull, with his current race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, joining the Woking-based team in 2028.
Lambiase is set to join McLaren as Chief Racing Officer, but it has also been claimed by Laurent Mekies that he will, in fact, become the team principal, a position that is currently held by Andrea Stella.
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