Verstappen has found himself central to a spat between his father, Jos Verstappen, and Red Bull Racing team boss Christian Horner following comments from the former that the team will “explode” if Horner remains in charge.

The Englishman has endured a turbulent period since being exonerated of inappropriate behaviour by Red Bull GmbH on the eve of the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Since then, an email claiming to contain evidence that formed part of the externally managed investigation into the matter was made public, though doubts persist about its veracity.

Gerhard Berger, who has close ties to Red Bull’s motorsport advisor Helmut Marko, has also spoken out, claiming if Horner remains it will force other key players out of the team.

That includes Max Verstappen, with suggestions he could find his way to Mercedes and the seat Lewis Hamilton will vacate at the end of the year.

However, the triple-world champion attempted to hose down those suggestions by stating he intends to see out his contract, which runs to the end of 2028.

“That is always the intention of signing,” he said.

“That’s why we signed so long, to be here.

“Of course, it’s about the performance of the car and, of course, from 2026 onwards anyway that is a bit of a question mark with new regulations.

“But I knew that when I signed my contract.

“I also know what they [Red Bull] have done for my career. So yeah, the intention is of course, absolutely to stay with this team because I really enjoy it.

“As long as they perform, there is no reason also to leave.”

The apparent conflict between Jos Verstappen and Horner has become central to the ongoing saga in recent days.

The pair were spotted in conversation following the Bahrain race, though Speedcafe can confirm that the discussion ended cordially with a handshake.

While Verstappen Junior acknowledges the importance of a positive relationship between everyone in the team, he’s pragmatic.

He also understands how comments made by his father could be interpreted as being made on his behalf.

“We speak all the time. We’re a team,” he said of the relationship with his father.

“It’s me, my dad, Raymond [Vermeulen, Verstappen’s manager] all together, and that will always be like that.

“I guess he [Jos] could have felt like that [that the team was about to “explode”], but I think from my side, it doesn’t matter being on one side or the other side.

“As a son of my dad, it’d be weird to be on a different side.

He also suggested that the current tensions within the team are not necessarily as disastrous as some have claimed.

“I think everyone in general, even if you have arguments or not, there are always things that can be worked out,” he reasoned.

“I think everyone is man enough and respectful enough to each other anyway in that sense.

“I’ve also not always agreed with everything that happened [in F1]… And that’s why sometimes it’s good to have a discussion about things.

“You might agree to disagree. Sometimes that’s also what’s happening in a relationship.”

Jos Verstappen is not in Saudi Arabia this weekend as he instead competes in a rally, but has spent the days since last weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix with his son.

As to whether Jos stands by his comments, his son is unsure.

“I haven’t asked him that,” Verstappen said.

“But from how I know him, from when I was already in go-karting, he was always very outspoken.

“He’s not a liar, that’s for sure. And that is, for myself, what I can say about things.

“But I think in general, for the team, it’s very important, from every side of the team, that we can finally talk about the performance of the great car that we actually have – seems like no one is really mentioning that too much in the last few days.”