Domenicali hails Verstappen deal as 'cherry on the cake' of Zandvoort's farewell

Formula 1 President and CEO Stefano Domenicali believes the news of Max Verstappen's Red Bull contract extension has been the "cherry on the cake" of the final Dutch Grand Prix weekend, with the sport's top executive also speaking glowingly about what remains in the 2026 championship.

As fans descended on Zandvoort for the circuit's last Formula 1 outing, it was announced on Thursday that Verstappen had signed a new deal to race for the Milton Keynes-based outfit through to the end of 2030, ending months of speculation over his future.

'Very proud and happy' about Verstappen's new contract

"The news of Max staying at Red Bull for the next [few] years is a cherry on the cake for this weekend," Domenicali said as the action continued at Zandvoort.

"It's great news, very proud and happy because Max is a World Champion, a world-class person that has a great personality in the sport, and I cannot see the Formula 1 without him."

Following the announcement, Domenicali is confident that Red Bull will be even more motivated to give the four-time World Champion a strong car capable of fighting at the front.

"Really very happy that this news now is official and all this talk that has been happening so far will be out of place," the Italian continued. "And now I'm sure the focus for the team is to be as good as possible to give Max the best car that they can."

Saying goodbye to Zandvoort

This weekend's Dutch Grand Prix marks Zandvoort's final event on the Formula 1 calendar. Rather than dwelling on the sadness of its goodbye, Domenicali wants to celebrate what the track achieved during its six-year return to the championship.

"It's amazing," he reflected. "I just want to start to say thank you – thank you Zandvoort, thank you to the Dutch fans for the energy they brought to the eco system of Formula 1.

"They came in [during] a [time] that was not easy, with Covid, and they were able to deliver an incredible event. From the crowd, the energy has been always a reference, so it's great.

"We are leaving this weekend not with the sadness of losing Zandvoort, but a positive at having done something unique, that will stay in the book of Formula 1."

'Lots going on' as championship enters second half

With an increasingly close battle at the front of the field, the 2026 championship is far from over – and Domenicali is looking forward to everything coming up in the second half of the season, from the debut of the mad trilogy through to Malay as host of the Bahrain Grand Prix.

"There are a lot of things going on," he explained. "We just started after the summer break, but after Zandvoort we're going to be in Monza – as you can imagine, it will be packed, crazy, and after [that] we start with a new challenge and opportunity with the Madrid.

"It's a beautiful place where there will be for the first time a race, after many, many, many years, and then [we have] a full season with a lot of things happening. As you know very well, we're going in Malay, the host of the Bahrain Grand Prix.

"Everything is progressing fantastically well – I can share the incredible information that the tickets in the grandstand are sold out, so now a general admission ticket will be on the market.

"To think that in just a couple of weeks we're able to sell out a market that was not in Formula 1 since 2017, it's an incredible achievement that, thanks to what we are doing together, is phenomenal, so very happy.

"Then we're getting ready for the future, and the calendar is confirmed. I know that Las Vegas will be once again a unique place where there's going to be excitement around what we're doing. And the calendar, as I said, is confirmed so there are still a few tickets to be sold in Abu Dhabi, so everything is progressing well and we stay focused on delivering the calendar we promised at the beginning of the year."