Christian Horner unfazed by Max Verstappen exit clause: ‘It’s about trust, not contracts’

Christian Horner has no concerns about a possible exit clause in Max Verstappen’s F1 contract which could see him walk away from Red Bull at the end of the season.

A report in The Times stated that Verstappen has a clause in his current Red Bull contract that he could leave the team if he’s not in the top three of the F1 drivers’ championship.

Verstappen is currently third in the 2025 F1 drivers’ standings, 26 points ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell.

The Dutchman’s F1 future has been a hot topic since last year amid interest from Mercedes as Toto Wolff considered his options following Lewis Hamilton’s shock decision to leave the team for Ferrari.

Verstappen has been heavily linked with a switch to Aston Martin, particularly since Adrian Newey’s arrival as managing technical partner.

Speaking after FP1 at the Canadian Grand Prix, Horner was adamant that Verstappen is committed to Red Bull.

“Obviously, drivers have performance clauses in their contracts, and they’re points in the year that tend to be around the summertime that things materialise,” Horner explained to Sky Sports F1.

“I think a relationship with a driver has to go beyond what a piece of paper says. It has to be about their comfort in the team, their confidence in the team. There’s never been any discussion with Max about him being anywhere else.

“His commitment has been absolute and he’s consistent in what he says with you guys. For us it’s about how we can improve, how we can be better than referring to a piece of paper. In life, if you’ve got to refer to a contract you’ve got a problem. It’s about a relationship with a driver and about their trust in each other.”

Horner addresses looming race ban for Verstappen

Heading into this weekend, Verstappen is just one penalty point away from a race ban.

Verstappen was handed three penalty points for a collision with Russell in Barcelona.

Horner refused to elaborate on what Red Bull would do if Verstappen was forced to miss a race.

“Lindblad is at the very beginning of his journey in Formula 1, having been granted that licence,” he added.

“First of all it’s a situation that we want to desperately try to avoid. Should it come, we’ve got enough drivers to draw upon from the pool of Red Bull drivers.”

When asked if Isack Hadjar would be promoted to the main team, Horner replied: “We would deal with it if it happened.”