Max Verstappen poised for eye-watering $500m F1 transfer, FOUR teams ready to pounce

A composite image of Red Bull F1 driver Max Verstappen — Photo: © IMAGO

Formula 1

Max Verstappen poised for eye-watering $500m F1 transfer, FOUR teams ready to pounce

Verstappen is the star on the F1 grid who commands the driver market

Originally written by Sheona Mountford. This version is a translation.

Thursday 16 April 2026 17:00

Red Bull F1 team's star driver Max Verstappen has already cemented himself as one of the great talents in motorsport.

At 28 years old, he has commanded four world titles, victories in and out of F1, respect and adoration, as well as on occasion, opened the door to his ego. But, most enviable of all, it has warranted an eight-figure salary.

The Dutchman could very easily become the first F1 star to boast a paycheck of nine figures. As Verstappen grows increasingly frustrated with the state of Formula 1, and struggles to even overtake an Alpine in his RB22, you can practically see the saliva forming betwixt the jaws of rival bosses Lawrence Stroll, Zak Brown and co.

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A terrifying image admittedly, but it serves to illustrate the point; Verstappen surely won't leave F1 without having courted alternative avenues for success, right? Add into the mix Gianpiero Lambiase's journey to McLaren for 2028. Well then, the prospect of Verstappen moving to Woking is all the more plausible.

But what about his Red Bull contract? Can Verstappen even leave the team midway through his deal? Patience, dear reader. All will be explained.

Verstappen's Red Bull exit clause explained

The Race recently reported that a latest exit clause was built into Verstappen's contract knowing that the 2026 season could see a huge swing in performance between the teams.

It is therefore understood that his exit clause regarding 2026, allows him to leave Red Bull if he is not in the top two in the drivers' championship by the time of the summer break.

Even by Verstappen's standards, at present, that's a monolith to climb. And shows that a switch is incredibly viable, should he wish to venture onto greener pastures.

Who could sign Verstappen in F1?

Where would you go if you were Verstappen? Three rounds into the new regulations probably isn't the best time to judge who has got the best prospects for the next, let's say, five years.

With the evidence we have at present however, there are four doors that could open themselves to Verstappen, and they're painted orange, silver, red and green.

Option 1: McLaren

Look, we're not saying McLaren are trying to build a Red Bull super team, but it's a little suspicious they've nabbed big hitters such as Rob Marshall, Will Courtenay and now Lambiase, all from Milton Keynes.

Who's to say Max Verstappen wasn't their end target all along? Sure McLaren have two perfectly good drivers, world champion Lando Norris and professional championship bottler (sorry) Oscar Piastri. But Zak Brown's team are missing that wow-factor. That Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari, the Fernando Alonso crying in the ~~club~~ Aston Martin. Why wouldn't they want to sign Verstappen?

And hiring Lambiase may make it just that little bit easier, by dangling a very juicy carrot in front of the Dutchman. The chance of reunion with his friend and ally GP, to re-live the glory days? It's too good to be true.

This ignores one snag, however. GP joins McLaren not as a race engineer but as chief racing officer, to support current team principal Andrea Stella. There's no guarantee then, that Verstappen and Lambiase could work as intimately together as before. Which may deter the Dutchman from a move.

Option 2: Mercedes

Oh hello. Here we are again. Verstappen to Mercedes is a more popular bedtime story than The Cat in the Hat, a tale told continuously since Lewis Hamilton left Mercedes and Red Bull ceased to dominate.

Verstappen has confirmed time-and-time again, he's not going to Mercedes. Toto Wolff has conceded and since stated that Verstappen is out of the picture, content with his race-winning duo of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli. Basically, Verstappen to Mercedes? Not happening!

But we're going to talk about it anyway, and with good reason. Mercedes is easily the most attractive prospect should Verstappen wish to make a switch for 2027. Their undisputed dominance at the start of 2026 is reminiscent of how they bulldozed into the hybrid era and reigned over the sport for seven years.

If you want to win a title, Mercedes is the place to do it; but was Verstappen foolish in remaining loyal to Red Bull? Should he have made the move two years ago, before Italian sensation (jury's still out on that nickname) Antonelli got his foot in the door at Mercedes?

Is it now too late for Verstappen?

Option 3: Ferrari

Multi-world champions and Ferrari are like magnets when it comes to the F1 rumour mill. After all who can resist the very best driving for the sport's most iconic team?

And sure, if Ferrari decided to axe Lewis Hamilton (unlikely), if Charles Leclerc was cool with it (also unlikely), then Verstappen to Ferrari could happen.

In order to make it so, Ferrari would have to offer a fat wodge of cash Verstappen's way and the promise that they can actually get their act together.

Because if you think Verstappen snapping at Lambiase is bad, wait until you hear his response to: 'Plan C, Max. Plan C-'

'I'll show you plan C, you [redacted]!'

Option 4: Aston Martin

Okay, now we're getting to the silly segment of our show. And hey, if you ignore the fact Aston Martin are three/four seconds off the pace, their car is vibrating them into space, their chief designer who is famously not a people-person is somehow in the typically public facing role of team principal and that their issues are likely to persist into next season...then Aston Martin is a good prospect for Verstappen.

If you ignore all that and just focus on the nine-figure salary Lawrence Stroll can conjure up, then actually Aston Martin is a pretty good deal.

In all seriousness, we haven't just included Aston on this list for the larks. In 2028, which realistically might be when Verstappen is contemplating a switch anyway, the narrative surrounding Aston Martin could be entirely different.

Project Newey may actually start to come good, and then they're off and away into the glory years like we saw at Williams and Red Bull. All they need is the right driver to lead it.

Sure, Aston Martin is a gamble for Verstappen. But he's already got four world titles and he's certainly not motivated by chasing records. Perhaps Aston Martin is the challenge that could revive Verstappen's passion for Formula 1 after all?

How much could F1 teams cough up for Verstappen's salary?

Verstappen's current Red Bull salary is estimated to be $70million; but, given he's considered F1's greatest driver on the current grid, any potential salary with a new team could far exceed that.

You only have to look at the greatest drivers of the 1990s to see just how far drivers' salaries jump, particularly of the calibre of Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher.

When Senna joined Williams it was reportedly on a $20million salary and two years later when Schumacher joined Ferrari, he was on $30million. This was a monumental leap from the German's Benetton salary of $3million.

With that taken into consideration, could a Verstappen move also see the first ever $100million F1 contract? If he joined a team on a five-year deal, this would take him up to $500million over the course of his tenure.

While such amounts seem ludicrous, it's not difficult to picture the likes of Stroll Sr and John Elkann losing themselves in an extreme bidding war for Verstappen. Factor in Wolff and Brown, such an ego-fest could see bids stretching up to the dizzy heights of $100million.

Could Verstappen carry out F1 retirement threat?

Of course, the most realistic proposition for Verstappen isn't a move to McLaren or Ferrari or Aston Martin or even Mercedes.

If, this very second, you were to ask what Verstappen's next move would be, hand on heart, retirement would have to be option number one.

No matter what team Verstappen moves to, his fundamental gripe remains the same and that is the new generation of cars. The reliance on electrical power isn't going anywhere and therefore, neither is energy management. With it remains that super clipping, lift and coast, not-on-the-limit way of driving that is the antithesis to what Verstappen stands for.

The four-time world champion has made it clear he is happy seeing out his career at Red Bull. Christian Horner, Helmut Marko, Lambiase, all of those who made Red Bull his home and facilitated his success, have now left.

The curtain is closing on the Red Bull of yesteryear. And for Max Verstappen, there has never been a better opportunity to call it quits in F1 altogether, in demand and in control of the driver market.

Written by

Sheona Mountford - F1 Journalist

Sheona Mountford is a motorsport journalist specialising in F1. As a writer and contributor, she covers a wide range of motorsport series from F1 to F1 Academy, responsible for breaking news, live race coverage and in depth analysis of the sport and the culture around it.

View full biography

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