Max Verstappen has warned Red Bull that he “will go elsewhere” if he wants to amid persistent rumours that he could make a sensational move to Mercedes for the F1 2026 season.
And he has refused to confirm whether his current Red Bull contract contains a release clause, despite team principal Christian Horner’s recent admission that a “performance element” exists within the deal.
Max Verstappen addresses Red Bull future, contract clause rumours
Despite holding a contract until the end of the 2028 season, Verstappen has been frequently linked with a move away from Red Bull throughout F1 2024 due to the team’s waning on-track performance and the tensions between Horner and Verstappen’s father Jos.
Mercedes made no secret of their desire to sign Verstappen, with team boss Toto Wolff commenting earlier this year that he “would love to have” the reigning three-time World Champion.
Lewis Hamilton’s shock move to Ferrari created a vacancy at Mercedes, who ultimately elected to promote teenage sensation Andrea Kimi Antonelli as the seven-time World Champion’s successor.
With Mercedes opting not to specify the length of Antonelli’s contract, however, and George Russell’s current deal set to expire at the end of F1 2025, it has been suggested that the Brackley-based team could renew their interest in Verstappen ahead of F1’s major regulation changes in F1 2026.
F1 contracts: Made to be broken?
Speaking to media including PlanetF1.com at last month’s Dutch Grand Prix, Horner insisted that Verstappen and Red Bull “have an agreement until 2028” before conceding that “every contract has a performance element in it.”
Horner went on to outline his optimism that Verstappen will see out his contract with Red Bull as long as the team “deliver and provide a competitive car.”
Having produced the most dominant season in history in 2023, winning all but one race as the Dutchman eased to a third consecutive World Championship, Red Bull and Verstappen are without a victory in eight races – their longest barren run since the 2020 season.
Verstappen has said that he is “quite relaxed” about his F1 future, remarking that he will not hesitate to swap Red Bull for another team if he wants to leave, but has insisted that he is not currently planning to depart the current Constructors’ Champions.
He told Sky Italy: “People talk a lot more about these things than I do.
.webp)
