The 27-year-old locked himself in Milton Keynes with one of the longest contracts ever seen in Formula 1 history when Verstappen and Red Bull agreed his last extension in March 2022.
He put pen to paper shortly after the Dutchman lifted his first F1 drivers’ championship title.
Those terms agreed in 2022 even saw Red Bull pay Verstappen £59m in 2024 as he sealed a fourth drivers’ title in as many seasons.
Yet the 63-time Grand Prix winner regularly hints he may walk away from the paddock once Verstappen’s contract ends to race in another series.
Rival teams also often keep tabs on developments in Milton Keynes with Verstappen able to break out of his contract with Red Bull should he wish to.
Mercedes explored signing him to replace Lewis Hamilton in the 2025 season, while Aston Martin are in talks with Verstappen.
Should Verstappen agree to stay at Red Bull, however, Tom Kristensen thinks the team might allow the Dutchman to pursue his interests outside of Formula 1 and race in the 24 Hours of Le Mans during an F1 season. He thinks Verstappen has the power to make Red Bull say yes.
Verstappen has already gone on the record to say he would like to try the endurance classic, which takes place on June 14-15 in 2025.
But another issue is clashes in the calendars, with the 24 Hours of Le Mans on the same weekend as the 2025 Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix.
Kristensen told RacingNews365: “He’s already thinking about Le Mans, he’s already talking about drivers’ weight.
It’s just a balance at Le Mans. He would like it to be a bit more included. So, he’s already propelling his entry.
“And with his stature at Red Bull, I’m sure that if he stays with that team – which also people are talking about – that means that he might even have a chance to drive Le Mans in a Formula 1 season. That’s also possible. So, you can put all these theories into the pond.”
As Kristensen says, Verstappen is concerned that his weight would count against whichever team he races for at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
So, the Dutchman recently told The Mirror he would need ‘light teammates’, with Fernando Alonso one racer Verstappen would welcome.
He explained: “The only thing is for Le Mans there’s no minimum weight for the driver. I’m quite a heavy competitor, so I would have to find light teammates to compensate.
Fernando is quite light, so that would be very good for us. But we would need to find another one.”
One F1 driver who could complete Verstappen’s dream Le Mans line-up with Alonso may be Charles Leclerc.
The Ferrari star is yet to compete at the Circuit de la Sarthe but is a big fan of the race, with Leclerc dreaming of racing at Le Mans with his brother Arthur in the future.
Leclerc wanting to race in the endurance classic with his brother could rule him out of an all-F1 crew.
But, as well as being light, Alonso is a two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner having triumphed with Toyota in 2018 and in 2019 alongside Sebastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima.
Verstappen could even draw inspiration from Alonso racing in the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans alongside his F1 commitments with McLaren at the time.
The Woking squad let the Spaniard compete with Toyota to try and keep the two-time F1 champion happy amid their problems.
Nico Hulkenberg also entered and won Le Mans on debut alongside his F1 commitments in 2015.
Force India allowed the German to join Porsche’s extra entry for the 24-hour enduro, partnering Nicky Tandy and Earl Bamber, without Hulkenberg missing any Formula 1 rounds.
