Max Verstappen at the Red Bull Ring typically spells success. The reigning Formula 1 champion arrives at his team’s home race in Austria, where he’s triumphed five times, with an upgraded car, following a promising second place in Canada, despite his two McLaren rivals’ collision. However, the broader picture is much less clear. Verstappen faces the risk of a one-race suspension due to accumulating too many penalty points. His Red Bull teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, is generally too far behind to offer assistance, and Verstappen’s future remains uncertain. “I don’t think we need to talk about that,” Verstappen said on Thursday when asked if he would stay with the team for 2026. “It’s not really in my mind. It’s just driving and trying to push the performance, you know. And then we focus on next year.” What choices does Verstappen have? Verstappen has a contract until 2028, making his Red Bull seat theoretically one of the most secure on the grid. However, performance-related clauses could reportedly allow him to move. In such a scenario, Mercedes would be the most obvious option, as they have yet to confirm either driver for 2026. This would mean Verstappen teaming up with former rival Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, who would have to decide between George Russell and Kimi Antonelli. Significant changes to F1 car design and performance are set for 2026, and Red Bull faces more adaptation than most. For the first time in nearly two decades, they enter a new era of F1 rules without design guru Adrian Newey, who moved to Aston Martin last year. While other leading teams stick with their current engine arrangements, Red Bull is changing. The team’s in-house engine developer, Red Bull Powertrains, will switch partners from Honda to newcomer Ford in 2026. The second seat: No team in F1 relies as heavily on one driver as Red Bull does on Verstappen. He’s scored 155 of the team’s 162 points this season. His teammates—first Liam Lawson, then Yuki Tsunoda—have struggled all season, rehabilitating the reputation of Sergio Perez, who was dropped by Red Bull after scoring barely one-third of Verstappen’s points last season. “I know, deep down, they regret it,” Perez said on a podcast this week. “And I know that from a very reliable source. It’s tough. I have very good friends there and people might think I take pleasure in what happened, but no.” Red Bull’s car seems to suit Verstappen’s driving style more than anyone else’s, but the Dutch driver says he can’t pinpoint the issue because he’s been with the team since 2016 and has no other reference point. “The thing is that I don’t know any better, right?” he said on Thursday. “I mean, I’ve started with Red Bull, so I only know one car, and that’s how I drive. I adapt to it. Is it the best? Is it the fastest? Is it not? I don’t know.” With AP Inputs.