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Max Verstappen’s F1 future is back in the spotlight. Could he really go to McLaren?

McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown (left) and Max Verstappen after the 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Rudy Carezzevoli / Getty Images

Max Verstappen returned to the podium with his battling drive in Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix on a weekend where the four-time world champion’s future at Red Bull was back in the spotlight.

A much-discussed meeting between team Verstappen and McLaren had created headlines. English newspaper the Daily Mail reported last week that the two sides had discussed a future move, possibly as early as next season, while The Race reported it was McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown who was approached for the talks.

Brown, who has Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri locked down on long-term contracts, did not shut down the rumors when talking with Sky Sports on the grid ahead of a race eventually won by Mercedes driver George Russell. “If for some strange reason someone slipped on a banana peel getting out of the tub, then yeah of course, Max is a four-time world champion,” he said. But speaking on British radio station Radio X Tuesday, Brown said there was “no intention” of changing the lineup. “I know what our plan is — it’s keep going with what we got.”

World champion Norris, who joined the team in 2017 as part of its driver development program, signed his most recent contract extension in January 2024. Piastri, meanwhile, signed a multi-year extension in March 2025, after his previous contract was set to expire at the end of the 2026 campaign. Both drivers have only ever driven for McLaren in F1.

It makes sense for both Verstappen’s team and McLaren to assess the market, as anything can happen during the contract negotiating ‘silly season’ and the unexpected (such as injury) can happen to drivers. Teams need to stay up to date on alternative options. As Brown said on Radio X: “You’ve got to know what the market’s doing.”

This could simply be a conversation and nothing more. Yet, it comes at a time where Verstappen’s future at Red Bull is far from certain.

It’s widely known Verstappen is unhappy with the sport’s current cars, describing them as “anti-racing” and “not a lot of fun” to drive during preseason testing. Changes have since been made to the regulations to make the cars more intuitive to drive, not just for this season but also for the next two years.

These are steps Verstappen previously said were “heading in the right direction.”

But the Dutchman wants a fast car, something Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies pointed out during an Austrian GP news conference. The Frenchman said: “Max has made clear to us that he wants to continue with the team. It’s equally clear that he needs a fast car for him to be happy with the team.”

Pace has not been something Red Bull has had plenty of this year. The team may have been deemed as having the best internal combustion engine by the FIA (an Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities assessment the governing body is reviewing at Red Bull’s request), but it has only been on the podium twice this year.

The first came in Canada, and the second was in Austria, where Verstappen used Red Bull’s major aerodynamic upgrade to heavily pressure Russell’s Mercedes.

“We feel at home at Red Bull,” Raymond Vermeulen, Verstappen’s manager, recently said to De Telegraf. “But Max wasn’t born to compete in the midfield.”

There were links between Verstappen and Mercedes last year, with Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff saying he had talked with the Dutchman’s camp to gain a better understanding about his future. But that door now appears to be shut.

Wolff told Sky Sports on Saturday in Austria, “We don’t want to change things,” regarding Mercedes’ 2027 driver lineup. This means Russell would stay alongside championship leader Kimi Antonelli. Both have long-term contracts with the team.

Verstappen’s contract with Red Bull runs through the end of the 2028 season. But there are clauses in his deal that he could be activated, a common feature of F1 driver contracts.

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Verstappen told English newspaper The Times earlier this season that he had told the late Red Bull founder, Dietrich Mateschitz, “my dream — and his dream — was that I would stay here for ever, as long as my career lasts.”

“I’m very happy that before he passed away (in 2022) I said that my intention is still to fulfil that dream,” Verstappen added. “And so far that is going quite well.”

Ultimately, Verstappen wants to win more championships. Red Bull therefore needs to become more competitive. But there doesn’t currently appear to be a viable move for Verstappen among the front-running teams, even if if he were to activate his performance clause.

After his second-placed finish in Austria, the Dutchman said that race was the first time this season “where I felt really competitive.”

Whether that lasts remains to be seen. Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren are engaged in a car development race, with the teams on rotation as to who appears to be more competitive, while Mercedes continues to lead the pack.

Jun 30, 2026

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