According to Fia Steward Derek Warwick, Max Verstappen will talk to up to four F1 teams about their moves from 2026 onwards.
The four-time world champion has signed with Red Bull until 2028, but his long-term future has been the subject of intense speculation and debate following the internal turbulence and power struggles that erupted within the team last year.
Verstappen has been permanently linked to Mercedes and Aston Martin over the past few months, but Warwick believes Dutch will be discussing with McLaren and Ferrari as they consider future options.
“Obviously he’s talking to all the teams, but when you say all the teams, it’s really just McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes and maybe Aston Martin,” Warwick told Presimo.
“Aston will be a big gamble, but they have Adrian Newey there. Mercedes will always be there or they will be there.
“If I were Mercedes, would you like to get rid of George and you? I think the answer to that is no, but the trouble is, I think he can open most of the doors when you have the fastest driver in Formula One that is definitely knocking on your door.
“If that’s what he’s interested in, I think a big, big pay comes from Aston Martin.
“I think he’ll be staying at Red Bull at the end of the day.”
What about the Verstappen exit clause?
Verstappen reportedly has exit clauses inserted in the current deal and will be closed as long as it is in the top four of the Formula One World Championship by the end of the Austrian Grand Prix.
He currently ranks third in the championship with 137 points, just 26 points from Mercedes’ George Russell, who had the controversial clash at Barcelona last time.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc is 5th, 43 points ahead of Verstappen. This means that if you have a bad weekend in Canada and Austria and your rivals have a big score, there is a small chance that Verstappen could be overtaken.
Red Bull Advisor A previous exit clause of Verstappen that allowed him to leave if Helmut Marko terminated.
Verstappen repeatedly emphasizes that he is happy with Red Bull and has no intention of leaving despite his bid to win the fifth consecutive world title that appears to be a tough question this year amid a team performance trouble.