Red Bull make Max Verstappen huge offer to remove contract clause

Red Bull Racing have reportedly made a huge financial offer to Max Verstappen to remove a clause from his contract.

The 28-year-old is one of the most exciting drivers in Formula 1, with four World Championship titles to his name.

Verstappen holds the record for most wins in an F1 season, the most podium finishes in a season, and the most consecutive wins, while he shares the record for most consecutive pole positions with the legendary Ayrton Senna.

However, he's had to get used to being away from the podium positions this season. The Dutch-Belgian racing driver is currently seventh in the 2026 rankings, with just two podium finishes from the eight race weekends so far.

It leaves him a staggering 98 points behind early leader Kimi Antonelli and a further 58 points behind George Russell in second position.

In 2022, Verstappen overturned the largest points deficit in the sport's history of 46 to beat Charles Leclerc to the driver's championship. Even by his standards, it would take a miracle to salvage his season now.

That is significant because Verstappen reportedly has an option in his current Red Bull Racing contract that would allow him to mutually terminate the deal if he is not in the top two when the season stops for a summer break.

Verstappen has previously stated that he intends to see out his contract with Red Bull, which runs until 2028, though that could change if they continue to be left behind by rivals on the track.

Red Bull are desperate to keep hold of their star driver and have reportedly made a huge financial offer to Verstappen for him to waive the release clause in his contract.

Speaking in a recent YouTube video, F1-Insider journalist Ralf Bach claimed: "He has to trigger the clause, assuming he can, which seems likely, by his birthday on the 30th of September. I heard that Red Bull wanted to buy the clause off him for a lot of money, €8 million (£6.9 million)."

Red Bull braced for another key exit

Red Bull are looking to avoid further change after it was revealed chief engineer Paul Monaghan is set to leave his role.

ESPN claims Monaghan is expected to leave his role within the team, with a move to Cadillac already mooted. The chief engineer has been a key part of Red Bull since he joined in 2005, and his potential exit would be a significant blow at a time of great uncertainty for the team.

He is one of the few remaining figures at Red Bull from their dominance between 2010 and 2014, but looks set to be the latest high-profile exit.

It was confirmed last month that Verstappen's long-time race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, is set to join McLaren, while former team boss Christian Horner and racing advisor Helmut Marko both left in 2025. Design legend Adrian Newey left for Aston Martin, and sporting director Jonathan Wheatley left for Audi in 2024.