Insider drops take on what Max Verstappen’s F1 future may hold

Max Verstappen will likely seek to leave Red Bull if the team are not competitive during the 2026 season, an F1 insider has claimed.

Four-time world champion Verstappen’s future was the subject of speculation for months earlier this year when Mercedes publicly courted him.

Verstappen moved to put the rumours to bed by confirming he would be staying at Red Bull until at least the end of 2026, but his long-term future remains a topic of intrigue.

Despite being contracted until the end of 2028, Verstappen’s deal is believed to contain several performance-related clauses that could see him trigger an early exit from Red Bull. 

Verstappen has been linked with Mercedes, Ferrari and Aston Martin in recent months and respected Dutch journalist Erik van Haren, who is close to the Dutchman’s camp, believes the reigning world champion could change teams for 2027 if Red Bull are not fighting at the front of the grid next season.

Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT

“If in 2026 the car is not good enough, is not competitive, of course after two or three races we are getting these questions again [about Verstappen’s future],” van Haren told The F1 Nation podcast.

“I’m sure he will think ‘OK maybe I will leave’ and for 2027 there are a lot of options on the table for Verstappen, with almost everywhere a spot. It’s not definite yet and he has a lot of time to make up his mind.

“But if Red Bull is not competitive in 26, I think the chance is still quite big that he will leave the team and drive somewhere else in 27.”

Verstappen happier amid Red Bull ‘peace’

However, van Haren stressed that Verstappen is much happier at Red Bull under the new leadership of Laurent Mekies, who replaced Christian Horner as team principal in July.

There was tension within the Red Bull camp during the end of Horner’s tenure in charge, with Verstappen’s father Jos and the Briton having a public fallout.

Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT

Horner’s departure from Red Bull was a significant event for Verstappen, while the team’s fortunes have vastly improved in recent months, boosting his hopes of winning a fifth straight drivers’ title this year. 

“The first thing you feel and can sense is the different mood in the team,” van Haren explained.

“You don’t have to be a psychologist to feel and see that. If you are in the hospitality, there is less paranoia. It’s not only because of Christian, you had two sides in the team. That was not a secret. So it was a bit awkward if you were there. That’s completely done.

“You feel and see that Verstappen is completely happy with Mekies, the new team principal and the way he works with his engineering background, the way he talks with him, the set-up changes they’ve made, the philosophy changes they’ve made.

“The new floor in Monza was a good direction, but that was already planned months before when Christian Horner was there. So it’s not only about Mekies but for sure he did a great job in his first weeks and months. You see they made some progress in the way they set-up the car.

Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT

“You feel a different mood in the team, you see Verstappen is more happy, also of course partly because of the results. But he feels better. He’s really happy with Laurent and really happy there’s peace in the team and no more fighting between the two shareholders.”

Verstappen praises Mekies approach 

In September, Verstappen said of Mekies: “Up until now we’ve had a lot of races where we were just shooting left and right a little bit with the set-up of the car. Quite extreme changes, which shows that we were not in control. We were not fully understanding what to do.

“With Laurent having an engineering background, he’s asking the right questions to the engineers – common-sense questions – so I think that works really well. Plus, you try to understand from the things that you have tried, then at one point something gives you a bit of an idea of a direction, and that’s what we kept on working on.

“I definitely felt that in Zandvoort already we took a step that seemed to work quite well, and then here another step which felt again a little bit better.”

Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT

Subscribe to our F1 Newsletter