McLaren reveal conditions for Max Verstappen F1 transfer

McLaren F1 boss Zak Brown has revealed the terms under which the team would pursue the transfer of Max Verstappen.

McLaren have been linked this past week with a shock move for the four-time F1 world champion, with it being suggested that Oscar Piastri would go the other way to Red Bull.

Brown has repeatedly said that he is happy with his driver lineup, which includes Piastri and 2025 world champion Lando Norris, but the prospect of having Verstappen in a McLaren would surely be a tempting one.

Verstappen's future at Red Bull beyond the end of this season is up for debate, with Red Bull having had a poor start to 2026, sat down in fourth in the constructors' championship.

Verstappen is contracted at Red Bull until the end of 2028, but his manager Raymond Vermeulen recently revealed that there are performance-based exit clauses in that deal.

Ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix, McLaren CEO Brown revealed the only scenario in which he would consider a swoop for four-time world champion Verstappen.

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Asked by Sky Sports F1's Ted Kravitz before the Austrian Grand Prix about the Verstappen to McLaren rumours, Brown said: "I'd be very surprised if Lando or Oscar went elsewhere. They're very happy, we've contracts but even contracts aside, we’re very happy with them.

"If for some strange reason someone slipped on a banana peel getting out of the tub, then yeah of course, Max is a four-time world champion."

Of course, McLaren are not the only team who have been linked with the signing of Verstappen.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has publicly pursued the services of the Dutchman in each of the last two seasons, although that now seems to have been put on the backburner because of the form of both George Russell and Kimi Antonelli.

So that leaves Verstappen short of options if he does want to leave Red Bull, particularly because that proposed departure would be because he wants a championship-contending car.

It's worth saying, Vermeulen did not state that Verstappen would be exploiting the exit clauses in his contract, and the Dutchman is fully focused on trying to improve Red Bull's car and become a grand prix winner once more.

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