A break clause in Max Verstappen’s Red Bull contract has been brought into sharp focus due to comments made by the triple world champion on Friday. Verstappen threatened to leave the F1 team if his long-term ally, Helmut Marko, is pushed out, amid suggestions that he could be suspended.
Verstappen is under contract at Red Bull until the end of the 2028 season. The deal reportedly banks the 26-year-old at least £50million per year, and provides him with by far the fastest car in the field at present.
However, tension at Red Bull has driven a wedge between key figures. Team principal Christian Horner has been cleared of wrongdoing after an investigation into allegations of inappropriate behaviour, made by a female colleague who has since been suspended.
Horner denies wrongdoing, but Verstappen’s father, Jos, publicly called for him to step down. Now, Marko is in the firing line amid reports that Red Bull have opened an investigation into the source of recent media leaks.
Marko suggested on Friday that he could be suspended by Red Bull ahead of the Australian Grand Prix in two weeks’ time. When Verstappen was asked whether his own future with the team depends on the Austrian staying, he responded: “I’ve always said that to the team, they know that.”
A reported break clause in Verstappen’s contract would allow him to stick to his word. The clause is simple: the F1 star would be at liberty to leave Red Bull and wriggle out of his contract in the case of Marko’s departure.
“Helmut and I, we have a lot of respect for each other,” Verstappen continued. “My loyalty in general to Red Bull, but also to him, after all for what he has done for me goes very far.
“I’ve always said, especially after [Red Bull co-founder] Dietrich [Mateschitz’s] passing, with everyone in the team, that I find it really important that we keep the key team together because that’s how we have performed really well and that’s how we will perform really well in the future. They know that. For me, Helmut is a very key factor in that and he has to stay for me, for sure.”
Marko has been heavily involved in Red Bull’s F1 operation since 2005, the same year Horner joined the team. He reportedly signed a new contract in January running until the end of the 2026 season.
Red Bull will hope to do their talking on the track on Saturday, much like they did in Bahrain last weekend. Verstappen and Sergio Perez will be gunning for a second consecutive one-two finish, having qualified first and third respectively.
