Max Verstappen offers Red Bull future update: 'Like a second family'

Max Verstappen has offered an update on his future and the elements required to keep him at Red Bull, which he describes as "like a second family".

The four-time world champion is still to commit to the Milton Keynes-based outfit for 2027 and has yet to confirm whether he will even remain in Formula 1.

Verstappen is contracted to Red Bull until the end of 2028, but his contract contains clauses that can be activated this summer to facilitate an exit at the end of the year.

However, his options in F1 are limited, with the Austrian outfit also starting to make steady progress with its RB22 package.

He secured his second podium of the campaign at Spa-Francorchamps and has recognised that things are heading in a better direction, although he is wary of how upgrades from its rivals could change that.

"Yeah, I think we're just trying to understand the basics of the car," Verstappen told select media, including RacingNews365. " Sometimes the performance has been a bit more straightforward.

"Sometimes we still have a few issues that we have to resolve, but it's an upward trend. So I think that's always good to see. 

"But at the same time, you have to wait and see when others arrive with big upgrades, because sometimes you have a good weekend and then, at another weekend, someone comes with an upgrade worth two or three tenths, and it all looks a little bit different again. So, we just have to take it race by race, really."

Red Bull 'on an upward trend'

For the 28-year-old, having a car capable of winning is clearly a key factor Red Bull needs to provide to ensure he remains, but that is not all.

Verstappen wants to feel good wherever he decides to race and insists he feels exactly that way with the team he has raced for since the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix.

Asked what elements are important to him remaining with Red Bull, other than winning, Verstappen explained: "Feeling good. But I am feeling good from my side. I'm saying that there is nothing to say because there is nothing going on. 

"So, for me, I'm just focused on trying to get the most out of the car. And, like I was explaining before, that's already complicated enough to deal with. Yeah, that's what I'm just doing. 

"I mean, this team is like a second family to me, you know, and yeah, we're just trying to understand our car a bit better and, of course, get back to winning ways. 

"But, I mean, we've been close on one weekend. I hope, of course, it's a little bit more often than just one weekend. But, like I said before, it's definitely on an upward trend. So that's good."