Max Verstappen’s future with Red Bull has sparked widespread speculation amid ongoing struggles and a potential move to McLaren for the 2027 Formula 1 season is on the cards.
The rumour mill began spinning into overdrive in the lead-up to the Austrian Grand Prix when it emerged that Verstappen’s management team held preliminary talks with McLaren about a possible deal.
This meeting took place against the backdrop of a hugely frustrating 2026 campaign for the Dutchman, who has found himself out of contention for wins in a Red Bull RB22 plagued by reliability gremlins.
What elevated this from standard driver market speculation to genuine headline news was the timing and context of these talks.
Verstappen has been the most vocal critic of the new cars and engine regulations introduced for 2026 F1, with the four-time champion going so far as to label the current generation of cars “anti-racing” and openly contemplating retirement from the sport after the Chinese Grand Prix in March.
While subsequent changes announced for 2027 and 2028 regulations have led him to soften his stance on the rules, his frustration with Red Bull’s inability to deliver a competitive package has only intensified.
Verstappen’s exit clause and contract situation
At the heart of this story lies Verstappen’s contract with Red Bull, which runs until the end of 2028 but contains performance-related exit clauses that are now set to be triggered due to the team’s poor start to the current season.
Sources have confirmed that these clauses would allow Verstappen to leave Red Bull at the conclusion of 2026 if he so wishes, giving him unprecedented leverage in negotiations with his current employer.
Verstappen’s exit clause reportedly does not come into effect until October of this year, but he is mathematically on course to trigger it based on his current position in the world championship and the deficit to the top two teams, which is believed to be the decisive performance parameter in his contract.
This contractual situation has created a uniquely tense atmosphere between Verstappen and Red Bull management.
The Dutch driver and his representatives including his father Jos Verstappen and manager Raymond Vermeulen, have been pushing for an improvement on his existing deal, which is worth a reported $55 million a year and was signed in March 2022 when he had just become world champion for the first time.
Four world championships later, with Verstappen now third on the all-time race winners’ list behind only Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton, his camp believes he is worth considerably more in a sport that has grown exponentially in value and popularity since 2022.
However, Red Bull executives, including Oliver Mintzlaff who heads up the company’s sporting endeavours and 49% shareholder Mark Mateschitz, have reportedly baulked at the numbers being pushed for by Verstappen’s team.
The breakdown in the relationship is not purely financial, however, as Mintzlaff has also been frustrated by Verstappen’s refusal to give a verbal commitment to staying for 2027 F1 which would go a long way in helping the team retain existing staff and attract prospective new hires.
From Verstappen’s perspective, declining to give that assurance makes sense given the unpredictable nature of the competitive field and the fact that teams will be bringing a slew of upgrades to their cars throughout the summer.
But from Red Bull’s standpoint, this has been interpreted as a lack of loyalty from a driver who the team signed as a teenager, gave a Formula 1 debut at 17 and promoted to the senior squad at 18.
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Red Bull’s internal struggles and Verstappen’s frustrations
The tensions between Verstappen and Red Bull have been compounded by what appears to be a team in transition, with several key figures who were instrumental in the team’s success over recent years having departed.
Christian Horner, Helmut Marko, Adrian Newey, Rob Marshall and Jonathan Wheatley have all left the team, while chief engineer Paul Monaghan is set to leave for Cadillac and Verstappen’s long-time race engineer and most trusted ally Gianpiero Lambiase is joining McLaren in 2028.
These organisational issues have manifested in Verstappen’s frustrations on-track. The British Grand Prix at Silverstone proved to be a particularly difficult weekend, with the Dutchman spinning out of the race in the closing laps when the moveable aerodynamic device on the rear wing of his car failed.
After the race, Red Bull team boss Laurent Mekies was seen having an animated conversation with Max’s father Jos and manager Raymond Vermeulen, with Verstappen returning to the motorhome while this was taking place.
Red Bull has apologized to a livid Verstappen for the recent car failures, but it remains to be seen whether that will be enough to repair the cracks in what was once considered an unbreakable partnership.
Zak Brown downplays Max Verstappen move to McLaren talks
McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown attempted to soft-pedal reports that Verstappen’s management team held preliminary talks with McLaren, claiming: “They didn’t go anywhere. I’ve got my two drivers. So there’s nothing to report.”
However, sources indicate that Brown has talked to Verstappen privately recently and has had fleeting conversations with the Dutchman’s wider team, which while not necessarily indicating an imminent deal, is still a significant piece of information in the context of F1’s driver market.
What is notable is that no public quote exists where Brown has categorically answered “no” to the question of whether he would want to sign Verstappen, leading many to believe that McLaren is keeping its options open despite public assurances about its current driver line-up.
Both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are tied down to substantial long-term deals, with Piastri locked down until 2028 according to sources.
