Racing
© Morio
Max Verstappen’s future at Red Bull has become significantly less secure after the Spanish Grand Prix, with a performance clause in his contract now a realistic factor if he remains outside the top two in the championship by the summer break.
Verstappen’s current deal runs until the end of 2028, but the reported clause would allow the four-time world champion to terminate it unilaterally at the end of 2026 if he is not among the top two in the standings at the start of the summer break. The decision window has been described as falling between the Hungarian and Dutch Grands Prix.
What changed in Barcelona was the credibility of that scenario. Verstappen is seventh in the standings on 55 points, 60 behind second-placed Lewis Hamilton on 115, 51 behind George Russell in third and 101 behind leader Kimi Antonelli. With four Grands Prix and one Sprint still to come before the break, a maximum of 108 points remain available, leaving him little room to recover.
That makes a clause that once looked theoretical much more relevant, especially after a recent meeting in Salzburg failed to produce the reassurance Red Bull wanted. Verstappen met senior company figures including Red Bull co-owner Chalerm Yoovidhya and group CEO Oliver Mintzlaff, but according to Erik van Haren of De Telegraaf, the team did not get the commitment it had hoped for from its lead driver.
Asked in Barcelona about the Salzburg meeting, Verstappen gave little away. “It’s nobody’s business,” he said. “It was planned anyway. It’s not as if it suddenly came up after Monaco.”
Van Haren said Red Bull’s ideal outcome would have been a clear public and private signal that Verstappen was staying. “The ideal situation for Red Bull management right now would be for Max Verstappen to say, ‘I’m staying,’” he said. “That would bring calm and allow the team to attract new staff. It would also make the team more attractive to sponsors.” He added that Verstappen “has not indicated privately that he is guaranteed to stay.”
The competitive picture is what gives that uncertainty its weight. In Barcelona, Verstappen acknowledged that Red Bull is now fourth in the order behind Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren. Van Haren argued that the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, a track that tests every type of corner as well as straight-line performance, exposed the RB22 across the board.
If Red Bull cannot close that gap quickly, Verstappen’s route back into the top two before the summer break becomes increasingly unlikely, and the contract clause moves from background noise to a genuine pressure point for both driver and team.