Max Verstappen takes step closer to possible Red Bull contract termination

Max Verstappen has reportedly taken a step closer towards a clause that would allow him to terminate his Red Bull contract at the end of the season.

The 28-year-old finished fourth at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix over the weekend, a result that left him seventh in the rankings after seven races of the season.

Verstappen is already an enormous 101 points behind runaway leader Kimi Antonelli and a further 60 points behind Lewis Hamilton, who sits second in the leaderboard.

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.

There are still four races until the summer break, starting with the Austrian Grand Prix next week. Drivers then take part in the British, Belgian and Hungarian race weekends before the season pauses for almost a month.

With four Grand Prixs and a Sprint still to go, there are a maximum of 108 points up for grabs, which all but ends any chance of Verstappen overhauling the huge gap between himself and Antonelli.

There is a very slim possibility the four-time world champion could close the gap on both Hamilton and George Russell in the race for second place, though it seems virtually impossible.

For that to happen, the Dutch-Belgian racing driver would need to win multiple race weekends and hope that the six drivers ahead of him all suffer huge setbacks.

It might be possible to close the gap on Antonelli, Hamilton, Russell, Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris, or Oscar Piastri, but it seems highly unlikely to overtake five of them.

While it is entirely hypothetical at the moment, it is not entirely out of the question that he could look to activate the clause at the end of the year. 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.

Verstappen will demand improvement from the Austrian racing team and won't want to experience another season in which they appear to be so far behind Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren.

If they fail to match his ambition, then perhaps a contract termination is not as unlikely as it first appears.