The Max Verstappen will-he-won’t-he saga got fresh fuel this week, and this time it’s coming from someone who’s been inside the paddock long enough to read between the lines.
The four-time world champion has Ferrari, McLaren, and Mercedes on his shortlist if he triggers the performance-based exit clauses buried in his Red Bull contract, former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner told casino.org. With Red Bull sitting fourth in the constructors’ standings and Verstappen scoring all but four of the team’s 30 points, the conversation isn’t theoretical anymore.
“In my opinion, Max can only go to 3 teams: Ferrari, McLaren, or Mercedes,” Steiner said. “But is there anything available at the moment? Maybe not, but would they make something available for Max Verstappen? That is the big question.”
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Where There’s Max Verstappen Smoke, There’s Fire
Credit: F1
Here’s why this isn’t just empty paddock chatter. Verstappen is technically contracted to Red Bull through 2028, but the deal reportedly carries performance-based exit clauses. The most relevant one: if Max isn’t inside the top two of the drivers’ standings at the summer break, the door opens for an early departure at season’s end.
Right now, that door is wide open. Red Bull sits fourth in the constructors’ championship with just 30 points after four rounds. Verstappen himself is seventh in the drivers’ standings, and he’s scored all but four of the team’s points. The car is a problem. The trajectory is worse.
Steiner pointed to recent history as the template for how this could shake out. Ferrari moved Carlos Sainz aside to make room for Lewis Hamilton. Top teams clear seats for generational talent. They just do.
“Just look back at when Ferrari let Carlos go, who was doing a good job, because the GOAT Lewis Hamilton came around,” Steiner said. “So, I think something like this needs to happen, but that is the thing Max will be looking for.”
Each team on the shortlist carries its own complication. Mercedes has been linked to Verstappen for years through his relationship with Toto Wolff, though that talk has cooled lately, partly because Kimi Antonelli is currently leading the championship and George Russell isn’t going anywhere. Ferrari already has Hamilton and Charles Leclerc under contract. McLaren has reigning champion Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, the two drivers most American fans would name first if you asked them who’s actually winning races right now.
But McLaren’s case has a wrinkle worth watching. GP Lambiase, Verstappen’s longtime race engineer and the calmest voice he’s ever had in his ear, is heading to Woking as chief racing officer by 2028. That’s not a coincidence anyone in the paddock is treating as a coincidence.
“He will be looking and speaking with these three teams,” Steiner said, “but I don’t think there is one which is focused on him.”
Translation: Max is shopping. The only question left is whether anyone is genuinely ready to buy. With the summer break still months away, expect the noise around Verstappen’s future to grow before it subsides. Red Bull’s recovery timeline is the real deadline, and right now, they’re running out of road.
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