Max Verstappen has extended his contract with Red Bull to the end of 2030. Red Bull announced it on Thursday 20 August, ahead of his home race, the Dutch GP. The deal adds two years to his existing contract, which ran to 2028, and settles his future after a summer of reports that his management had been negotiating a 2027 move to McLaren.
The exit clause really was triggered
According to Sky Sports, Verstappen's previous contract contained a clause allowing him to join another team in 2027 if he was not in the top two of the drivers' championship at the summer break, and McLaren held talks with his management earlier this year about a 2027 move. PlanetF1 reported on 7 July that, after his rear wing failure at Silverstone made a top-two place mathematically impossible, the clause would be activated the day after the Hungarian GP. The same article cited reports that talks with McLaren were "in the final stages", that a three-year deal was being discussed and that Oscar Piastri's seat was under threat. Red Bull reportedly called him to the factory in June to try to buy out the exit clause and was turned down, with Mark Mateschitz said to have been unhappy about it.
At the time McLaren CEO Zak Brown said he had "not really thought about it" because both drivers were in their seats, while Piastri said it "doesn't mean much to me" and that he trusted the team.
Why he stayed
The Race described the extension as a surprise. Helmut Marko, Adrian Newey and Christian Horner have all left the team, race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase is due to join McLaren by 2028 at the latest, and Red Bull have lost competitiveness under the new rules. F1's official website noted that Verstappen had no wins and only four podiums in 2026, and Sky Sports said he was sixth at the time of the announcement, 110 points behind leader Kimi Antonelli.
"I'm really happy to extend my contract," Verstappen said. "We have the best people, and I'm excited to keep working with everyone to get back to the top." According to The Race, he called Red Bull his "second family" and cited team principal Laurent Mekies's "clear vision" as a reason for staying. Mekies said that Max staying, and the team keeping the best driver on the grid, was "great news for everyone at Red Bull", adding that the team and Max had "committed to each other until the end of 2030".
Same clauses, bigger pay
The new deal still has an exit clause. The day after the announcement Verstappen said: "We've never made the contract details public. That's still the same." Asked about the McLaren talks, he brushed it off with "Does it matter?" Permission to race in 24-hour endurance events also remains. GPFans reported that the new contract is worth $107 million per season plus up to $45 million in performance bonuses, and said manager Raymond Vermeulen secured long-term security and a 50% rise without a clear competing offer. The GPFans piece did not mention the McLaren approach, however, while The Race wrote that Mercedes' interest had been blocked by the existing performance clause, so the sources put the emphasis in different places.
Sky Sports noted that the extension means no driver changes are expected at Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren or Red Bull for 2027, effectively closing the driver market. Verstappen has 71 wins and four titles, and lost the 2025 championship to Lando Norris by two points. Promoted to Red Bull from Toro Rosso mid-season in 2016, he is 28 this year and will be 33 when the new deal ends in 2030.
Sources
- Formula1.com — Max Verstappen signs contract extension with Red Bull until the end of 2030
- Sky Sports — Max Verstappen signs new contract extension until 2030 ahead of Dutch Grand Prix
- The Race — Verstappen signs surprise new Red Bull deal
- PlanetF1 — Max Verstappen re-signs with Red Bull but exit clause stays the same
- PlanetF1 — Max Verstappen McLaren move: Red Bull exit clause nears as contract talks advance
- GPFans — F1 silly season: Winners and losers