Hello, Formula One-niverse. Were you hoping to sign away Red Bull’s young flying Dutchman, Max Verstappen? Sorry—wait, just kidding, not sorry at all—Red Bull just made their wish for Verstappen to stay official with a contract extension through 2020, the team announced today.
Many wondered if Verstappen might jump ship to another team once his contract ended after next year, but Red Bull really, really didn’t want that to happen. After all, Verstappen is the youngest grand prix winner ever and still only 20 years old. He entered Red Bulls’ Young Driver Program at only 16, entered Formula One at age 17 and joined Red Bull’s main F1 team in 2016.
And now, Red Bull sent a message to all the other teams who thought they might be able to lure the ludicrously quick young driver away: hands off, he’s ours.
Only Sebastian Vettel has a contract deal that extends beyond 2018, notes. Maybe we’ll finally see big drivers making dramatic moves across teams in next year’s silly season. Who knows?