The case for Max Verstappen to leave Red Bull for McLaren
Max Verstappen has a decision to make on his F1 future
Will the resumption of the F1 2026 season bring news on Max Verstappen’s F1 future? PlanetF1.com revealed last month that the Red bull driver is in advanced talks with McLaren.
That, of course, does not necessarily mean that the deal will go through. Verstappen may well opt to stick with the team with which he has enjoyed so much success and one he regards as a “second family.” But the logic of joining McLaren is undeniable…
Why Max Verstappen should join McLaren for the F1 2027 season
A version of this article originally appeared in PlanetF1.com’s conclusions from the 2026 Belgian Grand Prix
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Why?
Why would Max Verstappen even consider leaving Red Bull for McLaren?
Does McLaren represent such a clear upgrade that a move would be worth it? What exactly is it that McLaren could offer to Max that Red Bull cannot?
All these questions and more were raised after PlanetF1.com revealed following this year’s British Grand Prix that Verstappen is in advanced talks with McLaren over a potential move.
The answer is simple and, at its root, ultimately comes down to those two fundamentals of motor racing: engine and chassis.
Although the ADUO rankings – more a measure of political acumen than engine power – might suggest otherwise, it has become plain over recent months that the Red Bull Powertrains engine is not the benchmark in 2026.
No, that honour instead belongs to Mercedes. As a record of eight victories from 11 races might suggest.
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And because the works Mercedes team is no longer a serious option for Verstappen – for all his woes, George Russell will almost certainly meet the performance targets required to trigger an automatic contract extension for 2027 – the highest-performing Mercedes customer is the next-best thing.
By its own admission, McLaren has struggled to harness the potential of the Mercedes engine in 2026 and, even at the halfway stage of the season, is still not extracting everything it has to offer.
But rest assured that it is only a matter of time before it does.
And when it does, the chassis will be in a better place too.
Unlike Red Bull, which has shown no sign since Adrian Newey’s departure in 2024 that it can consistently provide a race-winning car, chassis development has been a mark of McLaren’s success over recent years.
Lando Norris may have spoken recently of the 2026 McLaren being the hardest car he has ever driven in Formula 1.
Yet there have been enough flashes – especially Norris’s return to winning ways with its latest upgrade in Hungary – to suggest this car is a good enough base for 2027 and beyond.
Now consider this prospect – optimising the best engine, further refining the chassis and throwing Max into the mix – and you can see how Verstappen/McLaren could quickly become a powerful combination.
Some at Red Bull used to say that it did not really matter whether the team had the fastest car of all.
With Verstappen, all the team needed was to get close enough to the front for Max’s genius to do the rest.
And from what we have witnessed over the last two years, which team out of McLaren and Red Bull is likely to get him close enough in 2027?
From a similar starting position, it is far easier to imagine McLaren making more progress over the next 12-18 months.
It is a project that simply inspires more confidence than the new-look Red Bull – even before you consider the impending arrival of GianPiero Lambiase, Verstappen’s long-serving race engineer signed by McLaren in April, to add an emotional pull too.
All of this, of course, is not to say that the move will necessarily go through.
Even with his famous exit clause now in play (the result of Max being lower than second in the drivers’ standings at the summer break), it is a complex deal to complete.
Not least when you consider that Oscar Piastri, the driver most likely to be replaced by Verstappen, signed an extension to his contract as recently as last spring.
But, goodness, you can see the logic. You can see why it would tempt him.
Let’s see what the next few weeks bring.
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