Explained: Everything we know about Max Verstappen's Red Bull exit clause
What we know about the performance clauses in Max Verstappen's Red Bull F1 contract.
There are conflicting reports surrounding the exact nature of the exit clauses that would enable Max Verstappen to quit Red Bull.
It is known that Verstappen has a performance-related clause in his current contract with Red Bull that runs to the end of 2028, although the exact details have not been made public.
Some reports say Verstappen would be allowed to leave Red Bull in the scenario he is not in the top four of the F1 drivers’ championship at the start of the summer break in August, while others suggest that he only needs to be outside of the top two, or the top three, to trigger the clause.
The four-time world champion is currently third in the championship, 61 points adrift of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.
Verstappen is nine points clear of Mercedes driver George Russell, and 36 ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, with a maximum of 83 points on offer across the upcoming rounds in Great Britain, Belgium and Hungary.
Fresh details reported by Sky Sports claim an offer “potentially in excess of £100m” is also required to buy Verstappen out of his existing Red Bull deal.
“There is some speculation that he could trigger a release clause in his contract if he falls down the standings,” Sky Sports News reporter Craig Slater said.
“One or two outlets were reporting that he only needs to be outside of the top two, by the summer break, to do that.
“That is not my understanding. I’ve been consistently reporting that he needs to be outside of the top four.
“That’s my information from pretty credible sources and that’s what I understand to be the case.
“I still think, like Toto Wolff, that it is extremely unlikely that Verstappen will be going away from Red Bull at the end of the season to Mercedes or Aston Martin but let’s see.”
‘No reason’ Verstappen will leave Red Bull
Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko is not concerned about the clauses in Verstappen’s contract, insisting there “is currently no reason to worry about any sort of exit”.
“I assume people will use a race like this to stir things up,” Marko said after the Austrian Grand Prix.
“But again: Verstappen has a contract through 2028. Like all top drivers, there are performance-based exit clauses – but as things currently stand, there is absolutely no reason that this contract won’t be fulfilled.”
Meanwhile, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner downplayed the reports of Verstappen joining Mercedes as “noise”.
"It is a lot of noise. I think Max gets quite annoyed by it,” Horner told Sky Sports F1 after qualifying in Spielberg.
"We are very clear with the contract that we have with Max until 2028. So, anything is entirely speculative that is being said, but we tend not to pay too much attention to it."
Lewis regularly attends Grands Prix for Crash.net around the world. Often reporting on the action from the ground, Lewis tells the stories of the people who matter in the sport.
