F1 News: Max Verstappen vs Red Bull and the ticking timebomb that threatens a messy divorce

Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen vs Red Bull and the ticking timebomb that threatens a messy divorce

The standoff is real

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Wednesday 8 July 2026 11:00

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At this point in the F1 2026 season, it has become the worst kept secret that Max Verstappen once again has an exit clause in his Red Bull contract which kicks in over the summer break.

Despite being contracted to race for the energy drink giants until the end of the 2028 championship, Verstappen has emerged as the key player in this year's silly season.

Just like in 2025, there were initially rumours the Dutchman had his eye on a seat with Mercedes, because as everyone knows, Toto Wolff is always open to entertaining the idea of signing a four-time champion.

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But what has now become clear is that when you sign Verstappen, you don't just get the drivers' titles, the talent and the massive promotional interest. You also get the drama.

There has been plenty of it at Red Bull this season thanks to the new regulations proving tricky for the Milton Keynes-based squad to master.

But the fireworks could really be set off after the summer break if Verstappen opts to drag out his decision over whether to stick or twist with Red Bull in F1.

F1 HEADLINES: Verstappen exit clause active as Horner breaks silence

Are Verstappen and Red Bull heading for a split?

At the Austrian Grand Prix last month, the 28-year-old showed Red Bull management there were still signs of life in the partnership when he picked up his best result of the campaign on home turf.

But even P2 at the Red Bull Ring wasn't enough to mask the harsh reality of the weekend; Verstappen had crashed out of qualifying through no fault of his own, and the team were left having to apologise to their star driver as a result.

Just one week later the same thing happened again at Silverstone, but his time with a dire consequence.

With just four laps to go of the British Grand Prix in which Verstappen looked on course to claim another podium, his Red Bull went for an unplanned trip into the gravel at Stowe.

Yet again the race-ending spin was caused by the rear wing on his RB22 failing to fully close having been opened to hand him more speed on a straight, with Verstappen visibly at his wits' end with the team and his 2026 car after Sunday's race.

Verstappen admitted he was 'fed up' after the two very similar incidents, with team principal Laurent Mekies telling reporters: "He's right not to be happy."

Though Verstappen and Mekies appear harmonious, the dissatisfaction on Verstappen's side points towards the previously dominant team/driver combination heading towards a messy divorce, especially considering the four-time champion reportedly can wait until October to make a final decision on his future.

Mekies knows his star driver isn't happy, but Verstappen could still string Red Bull along for another three months

Verstappen's exit clause would allow him to leave Red Bull if he is not in the top two in the drivers' standings by the summer break.

There are now just two more non-sprint race weekends until that month-long break, meaning it is mathematically impossible for Verstappen to catch up to the top two given he currently sits way down in P7 in the championship.

But the key point here could be that October end date for the exit clause, putting Red Bull in the incredibly difficult position of having to bide their time and meet every demand the Dutchman may have up until that point.

However, dragging out an announcement over his decision is no good for either party.

October would be ridiculously late for Red Bull to replace Verstappen and an exit then for the Dutchman would effectively seal the team's fate as a diminishing power in F1.

Verstappen holds all the cards, but it could get messy

There is no denying that in the decade since he made history joining the F1 grid with the Red Bull family at just 17 years of age, Verstappen has become the energy drink giant's identity in the sport.

He is massively important from a sponsorship perspective and a late decision regarding his 2027 seat would be a commercial headache for the team.

Verstappen does not want to be pushed, he wants to be sure Red Bull are on the right path, a concept perfectly summarised by his manager Raymond Vermeulen, who told Dutch media: "Max wasn’t born to race in the midfield."

This uncomfortable truth is likely to be just the first of the warning shots fired Red Bull's way by Verstappen's team and Mekies' F1 squad are likely to become equally, if not even more frustrated as the months pass at his failure to commit to the team on a long-term basis.

This contract clause saga is a ticking timebomb and things already appear to be getting frostier by the day between Verstappen, his management and Red Bull F1 team.

We saw last year that once Verstappen was happy with the direction the team was going in, he committed himself to the team.

Even if he does announce before October that he has opted to stick with Red Bull, he could be laying the foundations for irreversible damage when it comes to his relationship with the team.

And of course, who is to say we won't have to go through this entire contract clause narrative all over again for the third year in a row if Red Bull don't come out of the blocks fast in 2027?

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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F1 Red Bull Max Verstappen