Formula 1: Max Verstappen confirmed at Red Bull Racing through 2023

Red Bull Racing have confirmed that Max Verstappen is slated to return to the team through at least the 2023 Formula 1 season.

Max Verstappen, originally slated to be the top free agent after the 2020 Formula 1 season, isn’t going anywhere.

Red Bull Racing, set to enter their second season with Honda as their engine manufacturer, have confirmed that the 22-year-old Dutchman is set to remain with the team for at least another four seasons, as he has signed a contract with the Milton Keynes-based team that runs through 2023.

Verstappen confirmed this news on Twitter.

Here is what he had to say about the matter, according to Formula 1.

"“I am really happy to extend my partnership with the team. Red Bull believed in me and gave me the opportunity to start in Formula 1, which I have always been very grateful for.“Honda coming onboard and the progress we have made over the last 12 months gives me even more motivation and the belief we can win together. I respect the way Red Bull and Honda work together and from all sides everyone is doing what they can to success. I want to win with Red Bull and our goal is of course to fight for a world championship together.”"

Here is what Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner had to add.

"“It is fantastic news for the team to have extended our agreement with Max up to and including the 2023 season. With the challenge of the 2021 regulation changes on the horizon, continuity in as many areas as possible is key. Max has proven what an asset he is to the team, he truly believes in the partnership we have forged with Honda, and we are delighted to have extended our relationship with him.”"

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Verstappen has driven for Red Bull Racing since four races into the 2016 season when he was promoted from sister team Toro Rosso, where he spent the 2015 season as a 17-year-old rookie, as the replacement for Daniil Kvyat.

In his Red Bull Racing debut in May of 2016, he won the Spanish Grand Prix at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. It took him more than a year to take the checkered flag again, but once he did so in October of 2017 in the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang International Circuit, he has done so on a regular basis.

He had secured five victories at an age when no other driver in Formula 1 history had even earned one, and he is slated to enter the 2020 season, which is scheduled to begin in just over two months on Sunday, March 15, with eight career victories in 102 starts.

Verstappen has recorded 31 podium finishes and led 502 of the 5,328 laps that he has completed, and he has taken two pole positions, both in what was a career season for him in 2019, Red Bull Racing’s first season with Honda.

Also in 2019, he secured a career-high three wins and finished in a career-high third place in the driver standings, bettering his previous best of fourth from the 2018 season when he finished just two points behind Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen in third. In 2019, he finished behind only Mercedes teammates Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas.

Verstappen was already under contract through 2020, as he signed a three-year contract extension with Red Bull Racing back in October of 2017, but there was speculation that he could trigger a performance clause in his contract to leave after the 2019 season for Mercedes.

Indeed, that performance clause was confirmed, but the terms did not present the opportunity for him to trigger it. Additionally, he likely wouldn’t have done so had he been able to.

With that being said, there were still rumors that he would join Mercedes in the 2021 season, and he did not rule out a switch. Now, however, that is officially out of the question.