Max Verstappen insists that retiring from the sport was more likely than moving to another team.

Today's news that the four-time world champion has extended his contract with Red Bull until 2030 must surely rank as one of the biggest shocks of all time.

And while the rest of us wonder why, a lot of his rivals are going to sleep just that little bit easier tonight and for the foreseeable future.

The Dutchman has been linked with various teams, most notably Mercedes, Aston Martin and McLaren, and other than what convinced him to stay put - and how much it is costing Red Bull - other than ending the speculation over where he might move, it also plays into the hands of Stefano Domenicali and Mohammed ben Sulayem following his criticism of the rules overhaul.

Indeed, speaking in Zandvoort today, Verstappen insisted that quitting the sport entirely was a more likely scenario than switching teams.

"I never felt that desire or need also to change, to try and win somewhere else," he told reporters. "If I feel well within the team here, why should I? I know that they do everything for me, and they know that I do everything for them once I'm on the track and trying to get the results.

"Of course, a few names have left," he added, referring not only to his engineer Gianpiero Lambiase who is heading to McLaren, but the numerous other key staff who have left the team, "but at the same time, it's still my family," he explained. "I never felt the desire or need also to change just to change to another team to try and win somewhere else.

Asked if had actually sounded out other teams, just weeks after he was seen holidaying with Toto Wolff, he replied: "I think I was closer to retiring than changing teams.

"I have to say, after the first few races I said to Laurent don't come to me with any kind of questions about the future because I didn't even know if I wanted to stay in F1," he admitted.

"We always kept it very open," he continued, "and I know... I mean I love racing and I think I had a lot of very good discussions with F1 but also with the FIA and I think we are slowly working towards something that becomes better and better.

"Also from my side, of course, I accepted the situation that I think we're all in and just trying to make the best of that. I think also with the year that I signed to it again opens up the door maybe when potentially the V8s come in to look at that again as well.

"It's, let's say, not fantastic," he said of the current formula. "But I still love racing. I mean, it's still a Formula 1 car. And some tracks are better than others.

But, yeah, for sure we know that in some areas I think we can improve. So, hopefully, over the years it will get a little bit better."