Verstappen to McLaren? Silly Season Hits Peak Fever at the Red Bull Ring

The rumor that set the paddock alight

Formula 1's silly season flicked up a gear at the Red Bull Ring, with Max Verstappen, McLaren, and the broader driver market all in the thick of it. The trigger was a report from The Daily Mail, picked up widely across the paddock on Friday of the Austrian Grand Prix weekend. According to that newspaper, Verstappen held initial, confidential talks with McLaren; the scenario floated would see the four-time champion pair up with Lando Norris to form a McLaren "dream team," while Oscar Piastri would move to Red Bull as part of a swap. ^[1] The report suggests this could happen as soon as next year, or potentially in 2028. ^[3]

The contract clause that makes it plausible

Verstappen is contracted to Red Bull through to 2028, but his contract contains an exit clause: should the four-time world champion be outside the top two in the Drivers' standings at the summer break, that clause would become active and allow him to leave at the end of the 2026 season. ^[3] Verstappen currently sits seventh in the championship, 101 points behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli after just seven grands prix. ^[5] When confirming that the exit clause is real, Verstappen's manager Raymond Vermeulen said his client's first choice would be to stay with Red Bull, but also added that the four-time world champion "should have the opportunity to win." ^[4]

The McLaren connection

Unconfirmed reports have linked Verstappen's future to McLaren and Mercedes in recent weeks, with both teams making stronger starts under F1's new regulations than Red Bull; Verstappen's race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase will also join McLaren in 2028. ^[2] Lambiase was confirmed to be joining McLaren "no later than 2028," where he will take up a role as Chief Racing Officer, with widespread speculation he will eventually become Team Principal. ^[5] McLaren chief Zak Brown has previously tested the waters on Verstappen's availability, admitting he made an unsuccessful approach for the Dutchman two years ago, when Verstappen was still dominant and Red Bull retained figures such as Christian Horner, Adrian Newey, and Helmut Marko. ^[3]

Denials and deflections

McLaren categorically denied to GPblog that such a swap is in the works. ^[6] McLaren has stated it is very satisfied with its current drivers, Piastri and Norris. ^[6] On the Red Bull side, team principal Laurent Mekies spoke directly to the rumor, expressing Red Bull's desire to end the speculation around Verstappen's future by providing him with a competitive car, telling media: "I think the last time I was in this press conference, I think I said that I'm not asking Max every week if he's going to stay." ^[5] Red Bull brought a significant upgrade package to their home race in Austria as part of their effort to keep Verstappen committed to the project. ^[4]

:::analysis The structure of this story follows a now-familiar pattern: a single tabloid report, energetically denied by the team named, amplified across the paddock during a home race for one of the parties involved. What gives this particular cycle more traction than usual is the convergence of verifiable facts underneath the unconfirmed headline. Verstappen's championship position makes the exit clause almost certainly live. The Lambiase connection to McLaren is confirmed. Ferrari and Mercedes appear to have no seats available. That narrows the realistic landing spots considerably, and McLaren fits the profile. None of that confirms talks took place; it simply explains why the rumor has oxygen. The performance of Red Bull's Austria upgrade package may do more to resolve this story than any press conference statement. :::

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