Max Verstappen still planning to leave Red Bull unless he sees one thing in 2025 Formula 1 season

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Max Verstappen ended his 10-race victory drought at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix last weekend. But this doesn’t necessarily mean that Red Bull are back.

Verstappen’s remarkable win puts him on the brink of a fourth world championship. After outscoring Lando Norris by 19 points, he leads the standings by 62 with three races (including a Sprint weekend in Qatar) to go.

But from June’s Spanish Grand Prix onwards, the title race picture has changed. Rather than mercilessly extending his lead, Verstappen has had to switch into preservation mode.

He’s rarely had the pace to contend for victory himself, but has done an excellent job at maximising his results. That’s why Norris has been unable to make meaningful inroads despite McLaren’s clear car advantage.

At the start of his winless run, Red Bull were top of the constructors’ standings, 60 points clear of nearest challengers Ferrari. Now, they’ve fallen to third after a whopping 142-point swing in McLaren’s favour, and a 96-point swing to Ferrari.

There will be minimal changes to the regulations over the winter ahead of a major overhaul in 2026. That means the competitive landscape is likely to remain similar – though not necessarily identical – when next season begins.

Max Verstappen will ‘pull the clauses’ in 2025 if Red Bull remain at their current level

According to RTL reporter Felix Gorner, who was writing for sport.de, Verstappen’s emotional Brazil win hasn’t changed his thinking on his future. He’s still currently of a mind to leave before 2026.

Verstappen is under contract until December 2028, but that deal features exit clauses. And Gorner says the Dutchman will ‘pull the clauses’ if Red Bull remain ‘as bad’ as they are now.

Should they remain slower than McLaren and Ferrari, and potentially leading suitors Mercedes, he’s ready to leave. He knows he won’t be able to ‘save’ his world championship, which this year has relied on a run of seven wins from the first 10 before rivals caught up.

Missing out on next year’s title would be far from disastrous as long as Verstappen is back in contention come 2026. But his stance appears to indicate doubts over the team’s long-term future as they split with Honda and set up their own powertrains division.

Gianpiero Lambiase’s unbroadcast ‘silence them’ message to Max Verstappen at Sao Paulo Grand Prix

Verstappen is the prodigal son at Red Bull, an all-time great who has graduated from their driver programme. He certainly wouldn’t be leaving because of a lack of backing.

Christian Horner called Verstappen ‘the best in the world’ after Brazil, where he fought back to win despite starting 17th on the grid. The team also defended him ardently amid the post-Mexico backlash, when the stewards handed him 20 seconds’ worth of penalties for incidents with Norris.

In an unbroadcast radio message to Verstappen after the chequered flag, engineer Gianpiero Lambiase said ‘and that is how we silence them’. It was clearly a pointed reference to his many critics.

However, while he appears to have an especially close bond with Lambiase, he’s seen multiple key figures leave Red Bull in a period of internal turmoil. Aston Martin-bound designer Adrian Newey tops the list, with sporting director Jonathan Wheatley and strategist Will Courtenay also joining new teams.