The brutal Max Verstappen F1 exit clause revealed and why it's bad news for Red Bull

Max Verstappen

The brutal Max Verstappen exit clause revealed and why it's bad news for Red Bull

Max Verstappen has been linked with a move to Mercedes

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Wednesday 1 April 2026 20:26

A change in Max Verstappen's Red Bull F1 contract exit clause could spell bad news for Red Bull, according to reports.

Four-time world champion Verstappen has had a dismal start to the 2026 season, currently sat down in ninth place in the drivers' championship with just 12 points from the opening three race weekends.

Red Bull have given him and his new team-mate Isack Hadjar a car that is clearly not capable of challenging the likes of McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes as they begin their new era of power unit production.

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On top of this, Verstappen has not been enjoying the new regulations that have swept into F1, constantly reiterating that he doesn't find the new cars fun to drive, and even threatening to retire from the sport following the Japanese Grand Prix.

Now, The Race are reporting that an exit clause in Verstappen's contract could spell bad news for Red Bull, as we progress through the season.

Verstappen is currently contracted with the team until the end of the 2028 season, but he has been linked with a move to Mercedes in each of the last two seasons as rumours of exit clauses have swirled.

Now, the above publication has reported that Verstappen's latest exit clause was built into his contract knowing that the 2026 season could see huge swings in performance between the teams.

It's understood that his exit clause regarding this year is that he can leave the team if he is not in the top two in the drivers' championship by the time of the summer break. While this is looking increasingly likely given Mercedes' huge performance advantage to Red Bull, it is unclear whether Verstappen would look to move teams or quit the sport entirely.

Toto Wolff has publicly pursued the services of Verstappen in each of the last two seasons, and has the dominant machinery to try and tempt Verstappen away if the Dutchman wants to chase a fifth title in F1.

Verstappen's warning to F1

Verstappen has been very vocal about the new rules, describing them as a 'joke' at the recent Chinese GP, while also calling on F1 to make changes.

Following the Japanese GP, however, he issued his biggest warning yet, suggesting that the sport might lose its biggest star if it doesn't opt to make changes to the rules that have featured a much heavier responsibility on the drivers to manage their battery.

Speaking to the BBC after the Japanese Grand Prix, Verstappen reflected on his future and said: "I see it like this: You hear it from a lot of sports people when you speak to them about how are you successful. It all starts with actually enjoying what you're doing before you can actually commit to it 100 per cent.

"Now I think I'm committing 100 per cent and I'm still trying, but the way that I am telling myself to give it 100 per cent I think is not very healthy at the moment because I am not enjoying what I'm doing.

"And now people can easily say, 'Yeah, well, you've won so many championships and races and now just because the car is not good you are complaining.' Maybe you can see it like that, but I see it different.

"I have a lot of other projects anyway that I have a lot of passion about. The GT3 racing. Not only racing it myself but also the team. It's really nice and fun to build that. And I really want to build that out further in the coming years.

"It's not like if I would stop here that I'm not going to do anything. I'm always going to have fun. And also I will have fun in a lot of other things in my life.

"But it's a bit sad to be honest that we're even talking about this. It is what it is. You don't need to feel sorry for me. I'll be fine."

Written by

Sam Cook - Digital Journalist

Sam Cook is a talented young sports journalist and social media professional who now specialises in Formula 1, having previously worked as a football journalist and a local news reporter for a variety of different brands.

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F1 Red Bull Max Verstappen