The chances are increasing that Max Verstappen will stay with Red Bull. A release clause that allowed the four-time world champion to terminate his contract with Red Bull Racing is no longer valid.
The Red Bull Racing driver could have left at the end of this season if he was in P4 or lower before the summer break. However, due to his result in Spa-Francorchamps, that is no longer possible. The gap to George Russell is now 28 points, which is more than what Verstappen would lose in a DNF and a win for the Brit in Hungary. Due to the expiration of this clause, De Telegraaf headlines: "Max Verstappen to stay with Red Bull."
The fact that Verstappen's clause is no longer an option doesn’t necessarily mean he will stay at Red Bull Racing with 100% certainty. In recent weeks, Verstappen’s camp has made it clear that in addition to Christian Horner’s departure, Red Bull Racing's performance also needed to improve.
However, since the arrival of Laurent Mekies, the atmosphere within the team has changed. Max Verstappen was also asked about the team atmosphere during a moment with the Dutch media. "Very good," said the four-time world champion, who noted that the mood is different. "It’s cheerful now, yes, upbeat. There have been years when it was different. Every year can feel different. But I don’t need to go into too much detail."
Why Max Verstappen might stay with Red Bull
Undoubtedly, the way Red Bull operates these days is exactly how Max Verstappen and those close to him like to see the Austrian team: a place where you want to be, with colleagues working together to achieve the best possible result through a package of updates.
Of course, we’ll have to see how things develop over the coming months, but under the leadership of new team principal Laurent Mekies, Red Bull could very well be the place where Verstappen once again feels at home. For Verstappen, the decision on whether or not to move to another team will certainly depend on seeing progress on the technical front.
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