Max Verstappen has been linked with a potential departure from Red Bull over the past year, and fresh details about his contract exit clause have now emerged.

Exit Clause Could Become a Talking Point

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has suggested that Verstappen’s exit clause could become a topic of discussion around the summer break.

Last year, reports claimed Verstappen’s contract included a clause tied to Marko’s future at the team. However, Marko later confirmed that this element had been removed.

Despite winning his fourth drivers’ title last season, Red Bull has had a challenging start to the current campaign, with McLaren setting the pace.

Red Bull Not Concerned About Exit Clause

Marko confirmed that Verstappen, like all top drivers, has an exit clause in his contract. However, he insisted that Red Bull is not currently worried about it.

“Upgrades are needed for Max to win his fifth world title,” Marko told Formel 1.de.

“That is our big goal and the whole team is working hard on it. Of course every top driver has an exit clause if performance is not good. But they are all tuned differently. That is not a topic at the moment.”

Links to Mercedes and Aston Martin

Verstappen has been rumored as a potential target for Mercedes and Aston Martin, especially with the major 2026 regulations overhaul on the horizon.

Marko was asked whether the exit clause could become a bigger issue during the summer break, to which he responded:

“Yes, that’s the time window. But please, we are second in the drivers’ championship with a deficit of eight points. The summer break is still a long way off.”

When questioned if he would consider leaving Red Bull should Verstappen decide to move on, Marko admitted:

“That could be a good reason, yes.”

Lawson handed second ‘arrogance’ evaluation after Red Bull axe

Liam Lawson has been labeled “arrogant” for a second time by a former F1 driver following his abrupt exit from Red Bull.

The New Zealander was dropped from the Milton Keynes-based team after just two races, struggling for pace in Australia and China.

He has since returned to Racing Bulls, while Yuki Tsunoda has stepped up to partner Max Verstappen.

Criticism from Montoya and Villeneuve

1997 F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve was the first to criticize Lawson’s attitude, and now Juan Pablo Montoya, a seven-time grand prix winner, has echoed those sentiments.

Montoya believes that confidence is acceptable in a driver, but only if they can back it up with strong performances.

“I think right now his reputation is not good,” Montoya told Vision4Sport.

“You can see all the memes on social media. He’s very cocky. A little arrogance is OK. But the problem is that when you’re arrogant, you need to deliver.

“You need to back it up. This was a real slap in the face for him.”

Lawson had replaced Sergio Perez at the end of the 2024 season, after the Mexican driver struggled with performance.

Their rivalry escalated at Perez’s home race last year, where the two clashed on track. As Lawson overtook Perez, he showed him the middle finger, an incident that did not sit well with many fans.

Now, Montoya suggests that Mexican F1 fans are enjoying watching Lawson struggle at Red Bull.

“The Mexicans will be loving this because he gave Checo the middle finger last year because supposedly Perez was a terrible driver,” Montoya said.

“Now you see them in the same car and he’s worse than Perez.”

A Learning Experience for Lawson

Montoya believes this setback could serve as an important lesson for Lawson, helping him gain perspective and improve.

“It’s been a very humbling experience for Liam. I think it will help him put everything into perspective.

“If he doesn’t panic and if he stays in the moment and just goes and drives the car, I think Liam can do a really good job.”

Yuki Tsunoda has finally earned his long-awaited promotion to Red Bull after four years with the junior team.

However, even with his step up, he is not the driver who should be lining up alongside Max Verstappen in 2025.

Red Bull’s Questionable Decision-Making

Red Bull’s decision to promote Liam Lawson into the senior team for 2025 was nothing short of disastrous. All it accomplished was shattering the confidence of a young driver.

Sure, Lawson could have performed better in his two Grand Prix weekends with Red Bull. You simply can’t qualify last in a healthy Red Bull twice, even at an unfamiliar track.

But in reality, he was set up to fail by his own bosses.

Christian Horner has spoken about Red Bull’s “duty of care” to look after Lawson following his demotion back to Racing Bulls.

While it may seem laughable on the surface, Red Bull has learned valuable lessons from the harsh handling of Daniil Kvyat after his swap with Verstappen in 2016.

That move left Kvyat completely broken, with the media session at the 2016 German Grand Prix being a particularly painful example.

It was evident, however, from the moment Red Bull crushed Daniel Ricciardo’s comeback in Singapore last year that Lawson was their long-term plan for 2025.

In Red Bull’s official announcement of Lawson’s Racing Bulls seat, he was only confirmed for the final six races of the season there was no mention of his future beyond that.

At the same time, it was clear that Sergio Perez would be released after a dreadful campaign. No matter the struggles with the car, scoring just 48 points in 18 races in a Red Bull especially after a strong start was unacceptable.

So, Red Bull replaced a veteran with 281 Grand Prix starts who was struggling with a tricky car alongside one of the greatest drivers in history, with a rookie who had just 11 races under his belt. Madness!

Tsunoda vs. Lawson – The Battle for Promotion

Lawson was considered to have a stronger mental approach, especially as Tsunoda’s early-career radio outbursts came back to haunt him.

Horner and Helmut Marko deemed Tsunoda too inconsistent and not ready for promotion, despite his performances suggesting otherwise.

Now, just two races into the 2024 season, Red Bull has reversed course and promoted Tsunoda.

His 89 starts in Formula 1 give Red Bull much-needed experience as they work to develop the flawed RB21.

But even with this decision, Tsunoda still isn’t the right choice for the second Red Bull seat.

Sainz Should Be in the Red Bull

After losing his Ferrari seat to Lewis Hamilton, Carlos Sainz became one of the hottest free agents in Formula 1.

Both Mercedes and Red Bull had vacancies for 2025, making him a prime candidate for a top drive.

Mercedes was always likely to favor its junior driver, Kimi Antonelli, but Red Bull’s failure to pursue Sainz is a massive missed opportunity.

Although Sainz is currently struggling to adapt at Williams, he remains a top-tier talent. He may not be on Verstappen or Hamilton’s level over a full season, but on his day, he can beat them outright.

Crucially, Sainz wouldn’t be intimidated by Verstappen. Unlike previous Red Bull teammates who have crumbled under pressure, Sainz would go about his business without letting Verstappen’s dominance affect him.

Sure, he would aim to beat his teammate, but he wouldn’t resort to desperate setup changes like Pierre Gasly did during his ill-fated stint at Red Bull.

With 208 race starts and four wins to his name, Sainz has the experience to develop a winning car—something neither Tsunoda nor Lawson can offer.

Moreover, he already has firsthand experience as Verstappen’s teammate.

A Rivalry Reignited?

Back in 2015, when Sainz and Verstappen were Toro Rosso rookies, tensions were high—not just between the drivers, but also between their fathers.

Their fractured relationship was one of the reasons behind Red Bull’s decision to swap Kvyat for Verstappen in 2016.

That season, Sainz actually outqualified Verstappen, though reliability issues allowed Verstappen to pull away in the races.

Despite their history, Sainz carries no baggage and would be the ideal teammate to push Verstappen while also improving the car’s development.

Perhaps Red Bull still holds a grudge over how Sainz forced his way out in 2017 to join Renault, or maybe Verstappen himself vetoed the move.

Regardless, Red Bull has made its decision but they could soon regret it.

What if Tsunoda struggles in the senior team and proves no better than Perez or Lawson? Then what? Who would they turn to in that scenario?

The driver they should have picked will be comfortably settled at Williams.

Lewis Hamilton finished sixth in the Chinese Grand Prix after a challenging race, but his result was later wiped out due to a post-race inspection failure.

The Ferrari driver was disqualified because his SF-25’s rear skid blocks were found to be just “0.5mm below the limit.”

To highlight how marginal this infraction was, Sky Sports F1 reporter Craig Slater demonstrated using an ID card. “This is your ID pass. Less than the width of this is the margin by which Lewis Hamilton has been disqualified from the Grand Prix today. But they have to draw the line somewhere.”

Hamilton wasn’t the only driver to be disqualified. His Ferrari team-mate, Charles Leclerc, was also removed from the final classification after his car was found to be “1kg under the minimum weight.” Alpine’s Pierre Gasly suffered the same fate, compounding the drama of the post-race inspections.

A Costly Blow for Ferrari

The double disqualification was a disaster for Ferrari and team principal Fred Vasseur. The Italian outfit has collected just 17 points across two Grands Prix and a sprint race, placing them fifth in the Constructors’ Championship, tied with Williams.

In the Drivers’ Championship, the outlook is equally bleak for Ferrari’s drivers. Hamilton and Leclerc sit ninth and tenth, with just nine and eight points, respectively.

Meanwhile, Lando Norris has surged to the top of the standings with “44 points from the opening two rounds.”

In response to the disqualifications, Ferrari issued a statement: “Following the FIA post-race scrutineering, both our cars were found not to conform to the regulations for different reasons. Car 16 was found to be underweight by 1kg, and car 44’s rearward skid wear was found to be 0.5mm below the limit.”

The team explained the reasoning behind the infractions, stating: “Charles was on a one-stop strategy today and this meant his tyre wear was very high, causing the car to be underweight. With regard to Lewis’ skid wear, we misjudged the consumption by a small margin. There was no intention to gain any advantage.”

Ferrari remains determined to move past the controversy, adding: “We will learn from what happened today and make sure we don’t make the same mistakes again. Clearly, it’s not the way we wanted to end our Chinese GP weekend, neither for ourselves nor for our fans whose support for us is unwavering.”

Despite the disappointment on Sunday, Vasseur can take some encouragement from Hamilton’s performance in the sprint race.

The seven-time world champion claimed his first victory as a Ferrari driver, standing on the top step of the podium ahead of Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen.

While the Shanghai Grand Prix ended in frustration, Ferrari now turns its focus to bouncing back stronger in the next round of the championship.