F1 star Max Verstappen: Why staying at Red Bull Racing makes sense

The Formula 1 season is approaching the halfway point and, as is customary at this stage, transfer rumours are starting to intensify. These consistently centre on Max Verstappen, who has won four world championship titles and 71 Grand Prix victories with Red Bull Racing. The Dutchman has a contract with the Milton Keynes-based team that runs until the end of 2028.

However, the agreement also contains the usual exit clauses, which are linked to certain performance targets. And it is these that the rumourmongers are citing as they concoct ever-new scenarios regarding the 28-year-old’s future. After months of predicting Verstappen’s move to Mercedes – until team principal Toto Wolff made it clear that he intends to stick with the tried-and-tested duo of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell in 2027 as well – the focus has now shifted to a move to McLaren.

According to these reports, Verstappen is set to swap places with Oscar Piastri, who in turn is expected to move to the Red Bull Racing team. Verstappen is not getting involved in the rumours and refuses to comment on the matter. “If there’s anything to say, you’ll hear it from me,” he said, brushing aside the questions in the Spa-Francorchamps paddock.

Former F1 driver and current ‘Sky Sports F1’ pundit Martin Brundle does not believe the exceptional talent will make a move. And for one simple reason, as he explains: “Max obviously has a contract if he wants to stay at Red Bull Racing. I’m not sure there are all that many other options left. The driver line-ups at McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari are largely set, and those are the top four teams – Max drives for the fourth, Red Bull Racing.”

“I’m sure they’ve already been looking around behind the scenes, because that’s a manager’s job – to find other opportunities and find out what’s going on in the market. There’s a lot of talk about Red Bull Racing poaching Oscar Piastri from McLaren and arranging a swap, but that’s much more complex than it sounds. It’s far easier to come up with a headline to that effect,” warns the Briton.

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On the fact that Verstappen isn’t issuing a clear denial when asked about these matters, the 67-year-old says: “I think Max has also learnt the hard way that everything he says can be interpreted differently. And if he says nothing, the same thing happens, of course. So they clearly don’t want to talk about it at the moment.” He makes it clear, however, that he himself does not believe a move is on the cards: “My gut feeling tells me that Max will stay at Red Bull Racing next year. Will he take a year off? I don’t rule that out either.”