Red Bull offered Max Verstappen £6.9m to remove one clause from his contract

Follow us on Google Discover

Max Verstappen delivered his strongest performance of the 2026 F1 season so far at the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday.

Verstappen could arguably have won the race with a different strategic direction, but ended up just 1.6 seconds behind George Russell at the chequered flag despite starting fifth.

It’s only his second podium of the year and his best result since winning the 2025 season finale in Abu Dhabi. Races like this could persuade Verstappen to stay at Red Bull.

Max Verstappen hasn’t given up exit clause despite £6.9m incentive

The driver market narrative around Verstappen has shifted this weekend. Russell, the driver at risk, said on Thursday that he was ‘100%’ sure he would be staying at Mercedes, and Toto Wolff has continually stressed that he’s happy with his driver line-up.

But now Verstappen is being linked to McLaren after reported talks with CEO Zak Brown. If Brown was trying to deny the story on the Austrian GP grid, it was hardly convincing.

Verstappen is under contract at Red Bull until the end of 2028, but his deal features a widely-publicised exit clause that kicks in if he’s outside the top two in the standings by the summer break. Despite his strong result on Sunday, he’s still 58 points adrift of that marker with three races to go.

Red Bull want clarity on his intentions, but he is holding out. There have been reports that Verstappen could receive a payout if he agrees to forego the exit clause, and F1-Insider have now provided more detail.

Journalist Ralf Bach said: “He has to trigger the clause – assuming he can, which seems likely – by his birthday on September 30th. I heard Red Bull wanted to buy the clause off him for a lot of money – eight million (euros, £6.9m).

Where would Max Verstappen and Lando Norris rank among McLaren’s greatest line-ups?

Comment

Like or Comment

Have your say Sign-in now for free

“He didn’t do that. And now Red Bull wants to move the deadline for that clause up, which is understandable, since they want some planning security. They don’t want to wait until October only for Max to say ‘bye, it was nice being with you’, just when they should be planning for next year.

“Instead, they’d like to know as early as possible how to plan for next year, including which drivers they’ll have.”

Like Red Bull, reigning champions McLaren have disappointed this year. Oscar Piastri was fourth on Sunday, with Lando Norris seventh – the third time in four races they’ve failed to score a podium.

Red Bull’s weight-saving upgrades were billed as crucial in determining Verstappen’s future, and the early signs suggest he can now start to contend for victories again. If that happens, the case to see out his contract becomes far stronger.

However, there may be lingering doubts over the exodus from Milton Keynes. Only months after Gianpiero Lambiase’s move to McLaren was announced, there is now talk that Red Bull could lose Paul Monaghan, their long-serving chief engineer.

As much as Austria was an important step forward, Verstappen’s dilemma remains acute.