Three-time Formula One champion Max Verstappen insisted that he's not thinking about leaving Red Bull following the news that esteemed F1 designer Adrian Newey is to depart the organization next year.
Asked during a news conference ahead of the Miami Grand Prix on Sunday if Newey's impending exit made him question his future at Red Bull, Verstappen said: "No, not at the moment.
"Like I said before, I think it’s important to always have the quickest car, because that makes it a lot easier to think about what is right. At the end of the day, we have a really strong group of people that maybe aren’t talked enough about in the press in general.
"At the end of the day, it’s not about money for me. I’m already very happy of course with what I’m having at the team," Verstappen said.
With Newey-designed cars, Red Bull have dominated the sport in recent years and claimed six constructors’ titles and seven drivers’ titles between Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen respectively.
However, after almost 20 years with Red Bull, Newey will be departing from his Chief Technical Officer role in the first quarter of 2025. Red Bull said that Newey will shift focus to final development and delivery of Red Bull’s first-ever hypercar, the RB17.
Verstappen has been linked to a potential exit from Red Bull after team principal Christian Horner was investigated due to his conduct with a female employee earlier this year.
He was cleared of the accusations, but the situation led to tensions with top figures at Red Bull, including team adviser Helmut Marko and Verstappen's father Jos, who said at the time that Horner to leave the team.
Recently, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has named Verstappen his "number one pick" to replace Lewis Hamilton, who's leaving the German outfit and joining Ferrari in 2025.