Martin Brundle claims Spa paddock ‘conversation’ revealed where Max Verstappen will drive in 2026

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Max Verstappen’s future remains a huge topic of conversation at the 2025 F1 Belgian Grand Prix, and even more so after Red Bull sacked Christian Horner after 20 years.

The travelling circus of Formula 1 has reconvened at Spa after a three-week break following the British GP. But Red Bull kept tongues wagging in the gap after removing Horner from his operational duties as their F1 CEO and team principal two days after the race at Silverstone.

Red Bull are now contesting their first-ever race without Horner in charge at the Belgian GP, as Laurent Mekies also takes over. But while Red Bull sacked Horner without telling him why he was being placed on gardening leave, how the fallout affects Verstappen remains unclear.

Martin Brundle is ‘certain’ that Max Verstappen will drive for Red Bull in 2026

Verstappen’s £47m a year Red Bull contract is set to go through the 2028 F1 season, but it is not a guarantee that the 27-year-old will be in Milton Keynes even in 2026. An exit clause in Verstappen’s deal will let him leave if he is not in the top three of the standings this summer.

READ MORE: Red Bull driver Max Verstappen’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

Mercedes have been paying very close attention to Verstappen’s situation in case Toto Wolff can finally sign the Dutchman. But Wolff now says retaining George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli is Mercedes’ ‘priority’, ahead of their contracts expiring at the end of this season.

A ‘conversation’ that Martin Brundle had in the Spa paddock on Thursday night has also led the pundit to assert on Sky Sports F1 (25/07, 11:09) that he is now ‘certain’ that Verstappen will drive for Red Bull in 2026. Brundle is convinced that Horner’s exit will ensure he stays.

Brundle declared: “Max, yesterday, was like, ‘It’s all about having a fast car. I just want a fast car’. I think it means he will now stay, I’m certain he will now stay at Red Bull for 2026 and see what happens. A conversation I had last night seemed to confirm that.”

Max Verstappen says Christian Horner’s exit will not influence his Red Bull future ‘at all’

While Brundle is now ‘certain’ that Verstappen will drive for Red Bull in 2026 after the team sacked Horner, the four-time defending champion emphasised at Spa that the 51-year-old’s exit will not influence his future should the Dutchman get the chance to break his contract.

“I don’t think it will matter at all for my decision in the future,” Verstappen said on Thursday at Spa. “The only thing that matters is that we work on the car and make it as fast as we can make it, really.”

READ MORE: All to know on sacked Red Bull team principal Christian Horner with net worth

Verstappen’s public declaration that Horner’s exit will not influence his future with Red Bull also follows claims his manager, Raymond Vermeulen, made immediately after the 51-year-old was removed from his operational duties in Milton Keynes and was replaced by Mekies.

Vermeulen stated that ‘nothing will change’ regarding Verstappen’s Red Bull future after the team sacked Horner, as the only aspect that matters for the 27-year-old is having a car with which he can win Grands Prix and titles. He currently sits third in the standings this season.

Verstappen needs Mercedes star Russell to outscore him by 19 points across the Belgian GP, where there is also an F1 Sprint, and Hungarian GP next Sunday for the exit clause in his Red Bull deal to be available. Russell is 18 points behind Verstappen in the F1 drivers’ standings.