Why Red Bull had to swoop early to keep Verstappen
Red Bull removed a second element of intrigue from the Formula 1 driver market by securing Max Verstappen for another three seasons. Its decision, like Ferrari's to keep hold of Charles Leclerc, shows it has put its eggs firmly in one basket for the future
Max Verstappen's number one ambition since he joined Formula 1 hasn't been to win the world championship. Instead, it's been to win the world championship with Red Bull.
It's that subtle difference that explains much - but not all - about why he and Red Bull made an early move to commit to a long-term contract that will keep him at the team until 2023.
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Jonathan Noble is Motorsport.com’s Formula 1 editor. Having graduated from University of Sussex Jonathan worked for sports news agency Collings Sports reporting on F1, F3, touring cars and other sports, with articles appearing in The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, Reuters, Autosport and other publications. In 1999 he moved to Haymarket Publishing to become a senior editor at Autosport Special Projects, and one year later he became Autosport’s grand prix editor. In 2015 he moved to Motorsport Network, becoming the F1 editor for Motorsport.com. He is also a member of the Guild of Motoring Writers, and sits on the FIA Media Council.
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