Verstappen manager reveals ‘truth’ behind Marko meeting after Silverstone

Michelle Foster
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A close-up shot of Max Verstappen with his hands covering his mouth and an orange McLaren logo alongside him

PF1 understands that Max Verstappen is in advanced talks with McLaren

Max Verstappen’s manager Raymond Vermeulen has revealed the background behind that post-British photograph of himself in conversation with Jos Verstappen and Helmut Marko.

Verstappen cut a frustrated figure at the British Grand Prix after Red Bull opted not to make changes to his car post-qualifying. The Dutch driver’s race ended with his RB22 beached in the gravel trap at the high-speed Stowe corner.

Raymond Vermeulen explains Helmut Marko meeting after British Grand Prix

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Two days later, PlanetF1.com reported that multiple paddock sources have suggested that Verstappen is poised to make a decision on whether to switch to McLaren after lengthy negotiations with the Woking team.

Although Verstappen has a contract that runs through to the end of 2028, it is understood that he can trigger an exit clause if he is outside the top two positions as F1 enters this year’s summer break.

He currently trails George Russell, the driver occupying second place in the standings, by 78 points. With only 50 points available before the summer break, Verstappen can no longer finish inside the top two.

Verstappen’s father and manager were photographed a few days later in conversation with former Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko, who is thought to have remained a close confidante of the driver and his personal team.

De Telegraaf reporter Erik van Haren posted the photo.

But while that set F1’s rumour mill alight, Vermeulen says there’s nothing more to it than three friends who organised a catch-up ahead of Verstappen’s sister’s wedding. Victoria married her long-time partner, Tom Heuts, in Maastricht, Netherlands.

“That was a private meeting that had been arranged a long time ago,” Vermeulen told OE24. “Besides, Max’s sister got married.”

He went on to insist that Verstappen wants to see out his contract with Red Bull, which he joined in 2016 and won on debut at the Spanish Grand Prix.

Vermeulen, though, did not specifically touch on the McLaren report.

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“A lot has been written about it. But the truth is that Max wants to see things through with Red Bull,” he said.

“He has a contract until 2028 and would like to see it through.

“Just because this clause exists doesn’t mean we’ll invoke it. We could have invoked it in previous years and didn’t.”

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