A former Red Bull driver has claimed that Max Verstappen has another contract clause that would allow him to leave the team ahead of next season. The reigning world champion looks set to be denied a fifth straight Drivers’ Championship title with McLaren much quicker than any of their rivals. It will almost certainly be a straight fight between current leader Oscar Piastri and his team-mate Lando Norris.
Verstappen continues to be linked with a potential move away from Red Bull at the end of the campaign. He remains tied down until 2028 but rumours of a premature exit are refusing to die down. It has been claimed that he is threatening to walk away from Red Bull unless Christian Horner either steps aside or sees his ‘powers curtailed’.
It has also been widely reported that Verstappen would be free to leave if he falls outside the top three in the standings at some point during the summer. Now, former Red Bull driver Robert Doornbos has insisted that another special clause exists.
Speaking on Ziggo Sport, he said: “The other clause dictates that Verstappen can leave if Red Bull is not in the top three among the Constructors’ [Championship].
“Of that I know, it’s in there, 100,000 per cent for sure. Because if a team can’t deliver more, then a driver can’t deliver either.”
Verstappen has been heavily linked with a move to Mercedes, who are yet to confirm their driver line-up for the 2026 season. As things stand, George Russell and Kimi Antonelli are only tied down until the end of the current campaign.
Ahead of last weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix, it was claimed by Russell that Mercedes were stalling over his contract situation because they were interested in signing Verstappen.
“Those talks with Mercedes are going on, since last year in fact, that is not rocket science,” added Doornbos.
“Then there is a rest for a while, then there is some more talk. And that George Russell, meanwhile, just has to wait, twiddling his thumbs.”
Toto Wolff, meanwhile, recently said that Mercedes will choose their line-up for the 2026 season before the end of the August summer break.
Quizzed on a potential timeline, the Silver Arrows team principal said: “You need to be respectable towards the stakeholders in all of that process, the organisation, the drivers, everybody.
“You need to understand the way forward. I don’t want to be sadistic in letting a driver wait or not taking any decisions when it should be taken. I feel we are in a good space. We’re [in] June, there are lots of discussions around.
“I’ve been open with it, transparent. And at a certain stage, in the next couple of months, until the summer break, everything is going to be done.”
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