Stefano Domenicali says he believes Max Verstappen will stay in Formula 1. Lovely. Meanwhile, Red Bull are internally describing their own car as a flop, Verstappen has an exit clause he can trigger in October, and the McLaren talks everyone insists are fake are somehow still making headlines. But sure, everything is fine.
A Car Nobody Wants to Defend
Eleven races in, Red Bull have zero wins, sit fourth in the constructors’ standings, and trail Mercedes by over 200 points. Verstappen has scraped together four podiums, which is admirable given what he is working with. He has complained about downshifts, balance, understeer, oversteer, energy deployment, and his actual seat. In Hungary, he called the car completely broken over team radio. Teammate Isack Hadjar has been barely more diplomatic.
Verstappen himself has been blunt about the priorities heading into the second half: find more overall performance, and stop randomly losing pace mid-weekend. As he put it, that second point is also actually a big priority. Coming from a four-time world champion, that framing is almost politely restrained.
The McLaren Gambit
Reports suggest Verstappen’s management has held talks with McLaren. The same reports suggest those talks were largely theatrical, a lever rather than a genuine pursuit. Zak Brown has already indicated McLaren have no seat available, and Verstappen’s fractious history with the Woking outfit in 2024 and 2025 hardly makes that destination appealing anyway. Ferrari are locked in with Hamilton and Leclerc. Mercedes stay with Antonelli and Russell, who have both reportedly activated contract options for 2027. The Mercedes seats are firmly occupied.
So the McLaren noise serves a different purpose entirely: extracting contract terms from Red Bull that no driver has ever dared to demand. Think expanded sponsorship rights for his own racing ventures, and the freedom to compete outside Formula 1 that most drivers, including Kimi Antonelli, are flatly denied.
Signals and Leverage
There is one telling detail that suggests Verstappen is not actually walking out the door. He reportedly personally selected Tom Hart as the replacement for race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase, who was being courted by Williams. You do not arrange your own engineer succession if you are planning to leave. That is not how this works.
Red Bull meanwhile face a genuinely uncomfortable strategic question: keep pumping resources into a car Verstappen openly dislikes, or pivot everything towards 2027 and hope that buys enough goodwill to keep him signed. Team principal Laurent Mekies has already hinted the development balance will shift sooner than it did last year. The relationship between Verstappen and Red Bull has deep roots, but roots only hold if the soil is worth staying in.
Reports also indicate Verstappen is willing to extend, but only for 2027, keeping his options wide open beyond that. And with Carlos Sainz already reportedly making contact with Red Bull over a potential seat should Verstappen leave, the queue is forming before anyone has officially moved.
Domenicali’s Optimism and What It Is Worth
The F1 CEO says his opinion is that Verstappen will stay, citing positive simulator feedback on 2027 regulations and their warm personal relationship. That is genuinely reassuring, or it would be if the RB22 were not still out there embarrassing everyone every other Sunday. Verstappen wants wins, not warm conversations. Red Bull had better find him some before October arrives.
