Red Bull chief advisor Helmut Marko has claimed that there is “no reason to worry” about Max Verstappen leaving the Austrian team at the end of the season. Many rumors about potential release clauses in the Dutchman’s contract have been circulating recently.
Max Verstappen suffered his first DNF in over a year at Austria. This means the driver is now in a precarious position in his world championship defense. He is now 61 points behind championship leader Oscar Piastri. Verstappen is also just nine points ahead of George Russell in P4.
Reports earlier in the season suggested that the Dutchman has an exit clause in his contract that can be activated if he outside the top three in the drivers’ standings. Toto Wolff also admitted in Austria to have held talks with Max Verstappen for a move in 2026. All these factors have created a strange environment with regard to Verstappen’s future at Red Bull.
Speaking after the race in Austria, Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko shared his opinion on Verstappen’s future.
“I assume people will use a race like this to stir things up. But again, Verstappen has a contract through 2028,” said Marko [via Autosport]
“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.
“There is currently no reason to worry about any sort of exit.” he added.
Verstappen himself has denied sharing a straight response to the rumors. The 4x world champion has avoided the question in the media.
Christian Horner weighs in on Max Verstappen potentially moving to Mercedes
Speaking after the Austrian GP, Red Bull boss Christian Horner claimed that “Mercedes have got their own issues”, as he discussed Max Verstappen potentially moving to the German team. The Briton put the rumors down as external noise.
Speaking to the media after Red Bull’s disastrous day at the Red Bull Ring, Horner claimed that the team is simply focusing on themselves.
“I think they’ve got their own problems. They were 62 seconds behind the race leader today. So Mercedes have got their own issues.” said Horner. [via PlanetF1]
“We’re just focused on ourselves. We know what the situation is with Max. We know what the contracts are with Max, and the rest is all noise that’s not coming from here.” he added.
Verstappen has spent almost 10 years at Red Bull. The driver has previously claimed he wishes to stay at the team until he retires. But times change. Drivers like Verstappen, who are few and far between, are hard to keep on your team unless you’re performing at the top of the field week in, week out.
Toto Wolff has been a long time admirer of Verstappen’s. Mercedes are reported to have cracked the 2026 regulations. A move for Verstappen becomes increasingly likely if this is the case.
