Max Verstappen signed a five-year, $275 million contract extension with Red Bull ahead of the 2023 Formula 1 season, which was the final season on his previous deal, to keep him with the Milton Keynes-based team through 2028.
Of course, in Formula 1, and really in the entire racing world (specifically if Zak Brown is involved, but that's a subject for another day), a contract is only worth the value of the paper on which it's been signed.
There are plenty of instances, including in recent history, of drivers either leaving their team or being cut before the expiration of their so-called "contract"; these deals always have some sort of an out clause.
Even during his run of four straight world championships, a run which included an incomparable 19 wins in seasons Red Bull didn't win the constructor championship (and 27 if you include his 2025 campaign), Verstappen's future with the team was and continues to be subject of speculation.
The 2026 season is set to mark a new era of Formula 1 regulations, and there is an expectation that the pecking order could be shaken up.
Although Red Bull nailed it in 2022 when the most recent regulations overhaul was implemented, they no longer have legendary designer Adrian Newey on the payroll, and their third place standing in 2024 and 2025, off the back of a 2023 season in which Verstappen won 10 races in a row and 19 of 22, illustrates that they have lost more than just a step, even for as close as the 28-year-old came to winning a fifth straight in 2025.
In other words, the pecking order has already been altered. It's just a matter of how much more it changes.
There have been rumors of Verstappen being offered contracts worth upwards of three times what he's making now, and they're not all that far-fetched, given the fact that Lewis Hamilton's current Ferrari deal is worth $446 million, despite only accounting for two seasons as a driver.
Verstappen is good enough that he can sign wherever he wants, whenever he wants. He's Formula 1's version of IndyCar's Alex Palou, but to an even greater extent as far as the demand is concerned.
After 2026, he is set to have a decision to make, one way or the other. Where will Verstappen end up when he ultimately decides where he wants to spend his next few seasons? There isn't a team that wouldn't want to sign him, but here are five possible landing spots.
Red Bull
This one is simple. The Verstappen/Red Bull partnership has quickly become one of the top partnerships in Formula 1 history, and even amid Red Bull's decline in performance, the Dutchman has still proven himself as the sport's top driver.
Becoming the first driver in 41 years to win the title for a team outside the top two in the constructor standings in 2024 all but ended that debate, and you could argue that his 2025 comeback was even more impressive, even if he didn’t win the world title. Going from 104 points out of the lead to a two-point defeat in nine race weekends was unheard of, until this year.
And though the word "contract" doesn't always mean much in Formula 1, he is still under contract until 2028. Plus, who's to say a move to a new team would necessarily come after just one year of the new regulations? Red Bull and Ford undoubtedly need to deliver, however, and quickly.
Aston Martin
This has been the hot rumor for the past two years, and for all the right reasons. Newey is now with Aston Martin, Honda have left Red Bull for Aston Martin now that the 2025 season is over, and Lawrence Stroll might actually be willing to replace his own son to give Verstappen a mega contract. And even if he doesn't, Fernando Alonso is set to turn 45 years old mid-way through the 2026 season.
Some rumors have included the word "billion", with a "b", rather than "million", with an "m". Though those particular rumors have been rejected, they're not all that far-fetched when you think about it.
World championships aren't decided on paper, but Aston Martin have the tools and the resources to be super competitive in the new era of regulations, even as a mid-pack team during the current era.
It would be a gamble, but is anybody else old enough to remember when Lewis Hamilton to Mercedes was labeled career suicide by the pundits? How did that one work out?
Mercedes
Speaking of Mercedes, Toto Wolff reportedly did all he could to sign Verstappen for 2025 when it was confirmed that Hamilton would be leaving for Ferrari. There were rumors that the 27-year-old was offered more than $150 million per year to join George Russell, but the team ultimately went with youngest Kimi Antonelli, long hailed as the "next Max Verstappen".
Wolff reportedly tried the same thing for 2026, which would explain the delays in confirming extensions – single-year extensions, notably – for both Russell and Antonelli.
I think it's fair to say that giving up Verstappen in the early stages of his career, when Mercedes simply didn't have a place for him during their golden era with Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, still haunts Wolff to this day, and I don't think he'll stop at one set of negotiations when it comes to landing the 71-time Grand Prix winner’s signature.
The real question would be who he'd be willing to replace to land Verstappen's signature, because both Russell and Antonelli would undoubtedly be instantly snatched up on a long-term deal elsewhere. Russell has proven his worth, while Antonelli is still a teenager and has already shown what he can do.
Ferrari
This option hasn't been discussed nearly as much as it should be, and no, we’re not just including the Scuderia here for the "meme".
Hamilton is now 40 years old, and his contract only runs through 2026. Verstappen also has a history of racing Charles Leclerc at a high level, without the level of controversy we've seen between him and some of the other drivers on the grid in a number of instances.
Ferrari may not be an attractive option for Verstappen, given their history of making serious blunders in key situations. Hamilton's radio messages to the team during a disastrous debut season in 2025 are also, objectively, complete child's play compared to how Verstappen probably would have reacted to such habitual screw-ups.
But maybe Fred Vasseur, assuming he's still the man in charge come 2027, can do what Wolff couldn't: replace one all-time great with another.
And as Sebastian Vettel once said, "everyone is a Ferrari fan. Even if they say they're not, they are Ferrari fans." They notably got off to a red-hot start in 2022, and if they can repeat that success in 2026, don’t rule it out, especially with Hamilton facing an uncertain future.
McLaren
Toto Wolff promised Hamilton that he would never pursue Verstappen while the seven-time world champion was on the roster, and you have to wonder if Zak Brown would do something similar as long as he has Lando Norris, who narrowly held off Verstappen to win the 2025 world title.
Having said that, despite a couple on-track tussles in 2024, Norris and Verstappen have long been close friends – and all friends have their fair share of squabbles at some point, right? Don’t let the dynamic between the fans of both drivers fool you into thinking they also despise each other. These two are world-class motorsport talents, not Twitter burner accounts.
Though Oscar Piastri led the standings for much of 2025, the second half of the season showed that he’s probably still a half-step behind Norris. Quite frankly, even Norris still has some work to do to improve; the fact that Verstappen was even in the fight with a car that tallied just 30 points with its second driver (good for ninth out of 10 in the constructor standings, even if doubled) is objectively insane.
On the flip side, how many times did Piastri get the short end of the stick when it came to who McLaren opted to prioritize, unintentionally or not? Piastri has already been rumored to be exploring other options, though how legitimate those rumors are is questionable.
McLaren have had a relatively cutthroat standard of their own when it comes to driver performance, and there's no reason to believe that Piastri is 100% safe if he can't make up some ground. Not only that, but if he does end up finding himself relegated to the clear-cut number two driver role, perhaps he really could be the one to look elsewhere.
Similar to Wolff, even with a top-tier lineup already, if Brown at any point has the opportunity to sign Verstappen, whom he has gone on record and admitted is indeed capable of winning the world title in the third fastest car, to drive what may still be the fastest car, you have to believe it'd at least be something he considers, even if only a longshot.
A Verstappen and Norris pairing at the top team would be the modern equivalent of Hamilton and Rosberg during their Mercedes years.
Retirement?
We're going to cheat and include a sixth option here, only because it is not technically a "landing spot".
Early retirement has been something Verstappen has discussed for years now. He has already achieved far more than he set out to achieve in Formula 1, and he has several other adventures he'd like to pursue in the racing world before he is too old to do so.
Maybe he'll eventually change his mind on the Indy 500 as well. Can you imagine that publicity?
He is still only 28 years old, but he also said after starting his 200th Grand Prix in 2024 that he will not be sticking around for another 200. Perhaps he could see fit to end his Formula 1 career after his current Red Bull contract expires, rather than try to add to his legacy with another team.
He could retire tomorrow, and his legacy would already place him among the all-time greats – and oddly enough, it’s his almost-championship-winning 2025 season that might have given his fans the extra ammo they needed to make the case that he’s the outright GOAT.