Zak Brown didn’t so much swat away the latest Max Verstappen-to-McLaren chatter as turn it into a punchline.
Asked about the prospect of the four-time world champion rocking up in papaya next season, the McLaren CEO suggested there’s essentially one way it happens: if one of his current drivers “slipped on a banana peel getting out of the tub”. In other words, barring a freak turn of events, McLaren isn’t shopping for Verstappen because it doesn’t believe it needs to.
Brown’s stance is straightforward. McLaren wants to keep Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri together for a fifth straight season, and the message from the top is that the team sees stability in its driver pairing as an advantage rather than a risk. “I’d be very surprised if Lando or Oscar went elsewhere, because they are very happy,” Brown said, pointing not only to their contracts but to the general health of the relationship on both sides.
That framing matters, because the Verstappen market noise isn’t really about who “likes” whom. It’s about leverage, timing and the brutal reality that a driver of Verstappen’s calibre only moves if he believes the next car will win — and if the team he’s leaving can’t give him that confidence.
The rumour cycle has been in overdrive again this month. First it was Mercedes, with claims Verstappen could land alongside championship leader Kimi Antonelli and in the process force George Russell out. Those whispers lost momentum in Austria when Russell stated he would “definitely” be a Mercedes driver next season. Toto Wolff then added his own dampener, telling Sky Sports he didn’t want to change anything and that he was “very happy with the two of them”.
With Mercedes publicly drawing a line under it, attention predictably swung elsewhere — and McLaren, given its recent form and profile, is an easy name to drop into any paddock rumour.
But the idea that Verstappen’s camp has been quietly meeting McLaren behind closed doors was rejected by his manager Raymond Vermeulen, who dismissed talk of negotiations outright. At the same time, he offered the kind of carefully chosen sentence that keeps every team principal’s phone switched on: “We’re going to wait and see how the car develops over the next few weeks. We definitely want to stay at Red Bull, but only with a car capable of winning.”
That’s the crux. Verstappen isn’t doing gossip; he’s doing optionality. The Red Bull relationship clearly still means something to him — he’s said as much repeatedly — but it’s increasingly presented as a partnership contingent on performance rather than sentiment.
Verstappen himself has now confirmed he’ll be on the grid next season, yet stopped well short of tying himself to Red Bull. Asked by De Telegraaf if he would still be in Formula 1 in 2027, he replied: “Yes, definitely. Unless very crazy things happen… I hope everyone keeps their word. But I can confirm that I will stay in Formula 1.”
Pressed on whether that equals staying put, the 28-year-old leaned into the long game. “I’m not in a hurry, am I?” he said. “I would prefer to stay connected to Red Bull for the rest of my life… But making that decision doesn’t have to be made today or tomorrow.”
And then came the part that will resonate with anyone who’s watched Verstappen and his inner circle operate for long enough: it’s not just about the grand prix seat. Verstappen pointed to “all the other projects” tied to Red Bull and said those discussions are ongoing too — a reminder that modern driver contracts, especially at the top end, are ecosystems. The car matters most, but the surrounding structure matters more than teams like to admit publicly.
So where does that leave McLaren in the story? More as a mirror than a destination — at least for now.
Brown’s “banana peel” line isn’t just a quip; it’s a declaration that McLaren doesn’t intend to behave like a team that needs rescuing by a superstar. Norris and Piastri are not placeholders, and McLaren’s management is clearly wary of disrupting a line-up it believes is delivering, developing and buying into the project.
There’s also an unspoken reality that everyone in the paddock understands: Verstappen doesn’t join teams to “see how it goes”. If he moves, it’s because he’s convinced the environment, the direction and the machine are aligned for titles. McLaren, meanwhile, is signalling it wants to win its way — with the drivers it’s backed for years — not by detonating its own continuity to accommodate the biggest name in the sport.
For Verstappen, the public posture remains calm, almost breezy. “I am very relaxed about it myself,” he said. “We shouldn’t make it too dramatic. Even if it doesn’t work out, it’s fine for me.”
Relaxed or not, the stakes are obvious. Vermeulen’s “car capable of winning” line is the only one that truly counts, because it’s the line that will steer every rumour from now until the next contract domino falls. Brown can joke all he likes — but until Red Bull convinces Verstappen, the rest of the grid will keep listening.
