Max Verstappen manager drops biggest hint yet over Red Bull future

Max Verstappen’s manager Raymond Vermeulen has dropped a huge hint about the driver’s future, insisting Verstappen wants to stay at Red Bull despite having an exit clause in his contract.

Amid renewed rumours of a switch to Mercedes, however, he acknowledges that Verstappen also wants to be in a position to win.

Max Verstappen wants to finish his Formula 1 career with Red Bull

Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust

Verstappen has once again been linked with a move away from Red Bull after the team’s disappointing start to the F1 2026 season.

The four-time world champion has just one grand prix top-three finish in seven race weekends, and is languishing in seventh place in the drivers’ standings.

Verstappen has scored just 55 points, 101 less than championship leader and Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli.

It is understood the 28-year-old has an exit clause that would allow him to leave Red Bull at the end of this season if he is lower than second in the standings. After the Barcelona Grand Prix, he is 60 points shy of second-placed Lewis Hamilton.

Although his manager Vermeulen did not go into the details about the exit clause, he confirmed that one is in place.

But in a boost for Red Bull, he added that Verstappen ideally wants to end his Formula 1 career with the Milton Keynes squad.

Vermeulen told Bild: “We have a contract until 2028. Of course there are exit clauses; there always have been. But we’ve never exercised one.

“On the contrary, we’ve always been loyal and will remain so.

“We want to continue on this path with Red Bull and for Max to end his career here – but, of course, with the chance to win.”

As reported by PlanetF1.com, Verstappen met with Red Bull’s top brass ahead of last weekend’s Barcelona Grand Prix.

The meeting included Red Bull GmbH co-owners Mark Mateschitz and Chalerm Yoovidhya, as well as Oliver Mintzlaff, the CEO of Red Bull GmbH.

But while the higher-ups were said to be seeking reassurances that Verstappen would remain committed to the team beyond this season, Verstappen refused to commit. He also reportedly declined the offer to buy out his escape clause.

Go deeper: Max Verstappen’s Red Bull contract

F1 driver contracts: What is the contract status of every driver on the F1 2026 grid?

F1 2026 driver salaries: Who are the highest-paid drivers on the grid?

Red Bull, though, won’t have to wait too long to learn Verstappen’s decision for F1 2027 as Vermeulen says it could even be announced before the summer break.

“We’d like the decision to be made soon so that everyone knows where they stand,” he said. “It could be made before the summer break.”

Verstappen is once again being linked to Mercedes, with former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher claiming that Toto Wolff had put an offer on the table.

It was a lowball offer, Schumacher said, as the Austrian already has a future world champion in the car in Antonelli.

“But,” continued Schumacher on Sky Deutschland’s Backstage Boxengasse podcast, “that offer was apparently so bad financially that it’s not an option anyway.”

PlanetF1.com understands that there has been no recent contact between Verstappen and Mercedes, or any other team, regarding the four-time world champion’s future.

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.

You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!

Read next: PF1 verdict: Where will Max Verstappen be in 2027?