"It's always been quite clear that I was staying anyway," says Dutchman, as Spa result dashes hopes of exit clause kicking in.

If nothing else, Christian Horner's sacking in the days following the British Grand Prix brought to an end the almost endless speculation over the Briton's role within the Austrian team, just as today's news, while confirming Fred Vasseur's future, also slammed the door shut on the former Red Bull boss heading to Maranello.

And while we endure the speculation over George Russell's future with Merecedes, Mxs Verstappen's weekend in Belgium appeared to confirm the Dutchman's plans... if only for 2026.

Should he have gone into the summer break outside the top three a clause in Verstappen's contract would have left him free to look elsewhere, however with a 28-point advantage over Russell that particular door has also closed.

However, speaking in Hungary today, Verstappen was adamant that the media had been making a fuss over nothing (as if!) and that he never had any intention of leaving Red Bull.

"It's quite interesting to follow all that and the amount of nice stories that came out of it," he told reporters at the Hungaroring. "But I've never really said anything about it because I was just focused on talking to the team about how we can improve our performance, future ideas for next year as well.

"That's why I have nothing really to add," he continued. "But yeah, I think it's time to stop all the rumours, for me, it's always been quite clear that I was staying anyway.

"I think that was also the general feeling in the team, because we were always in discussions about what we could do with the car. And I think when you're not interested in staying, then you also stop talking about these kinds of things. And I never did."

Of course, his options for 2026 were limited, but that will change in 2027, by which time it will be clear who has done the best job with the regulations overhaul and who hasn't.

So, can we expect more speculation next year?

"I don't know," he smiled. "If you ask me that question next year, then yes, we will have that speculation. But for me, I never speak about it. Because I'm more interested in just working on the performance of things. That's why I also never really talk about what is in my contract."

As we all await to see how the overhaul affects the pecking order, Verstappen was asked if the recent management overhaul might offer his team the opportunity to do a Klaus Schwab and perform its own great reset moving forward.

"Yeah, absolutely," he replied. "That's always the case. Of course, it's still very early days, but I do like how Laurent is working. He's very motivated, constantly asking the right questions to me, but also to the team. It's nice to see.

"This year it's very difficult to see any kind of benefit from that, but I hope in the coming year, two years, that we can really see his touch to the team. I'm very excited for that."

In the meantime he will be closely watching Aston Martin no doubt.