Verstappen could leave Red Bull thanks to an exit clause

The Dutchman is under contract with Dietrich Mateschitz's racing team until the end of 2020, but according to his manager there are exit options. “Of course I’m not here to finish fourth,” said Verstappen himself. “I want to win races.”

Red Bull is currently lagging behind Ferrari and especially the industry leader Mercedes. Verstappen's goals, especially that of becoming the youngest world champion in Formula 1 history with Red Bull, seem difficult to implement at the moment.

The Dutchman's current contract, which he signed in October 2017, is said to contain an exit clause with performance-related elements. There is speculation that Verstappen could leave the team despite a valid contract if he has not achieved a certain World Cup placement or a certain number of victories on a deadline.

“We confirmed that there is a performance clause in the contract,” Verstappen’s manager Raymond Vermeulen told the Dutch portal Formule 1. He did not want to provide any further information. Red Bull consultant Helmut Marko said in Spielberg that there were the usual contractual mechanisms. As usual, details would not be revealed.

According to media reports, the clause will come into effect if Verstappen is not in third place in the World Cup standings by the summer break. Verstappen is currently fourth, with third-placed Sebastian Vettel 11 points ahead of him. Elsewhere it is said that Verstappen can leave if he has not achieved a win of the season by a certain day.

Verstappen: “It’s not nice to race for fourth place” Verstappen recently said that he felt comfortable at Red Bull. However, it was “not nice to be racing for fourth place and always being just off the mark.” At the moment, he wasn’t worried about what would happen next year, said the 21st -year olds. There is a lot of potential, “and we have only just begun. But like I said, I don't want to drive until I'm 35 or 40."

“We want to become world champions with Red Bull,” emphasized Vermeulen. If the title of “youngest champion of all time” is to be achieved, you only have until the end of 2020 - because only by then would Verstappen be even younger than Vettel was when he won his first title in 2010 (23 years and 134 days).

In any case, leaving Red Bull would only make sense if he could sign with a top team. The logical option for improvement would be Mercedes, where Valtteri Bottas' future is still open. Verstappen is also said to be under discussion at Ferrari. Leclerc also sets the best time in the final training Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc drove the fastest lap in the last free practice session before qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix.

The 21-year-old Monegasque relegated World Championship leader Lewis Hamilton to second place on Saturday at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg. The five-time world champion from Great Britain was 0,143 seconds slower in the Mercedes than Leclerc, who was the only one to beat the 1:03,987 minute mark in 1:04 minutes.

Valtteri Bottas from Finland came third in the second Mercedes ahead of Leclerc's German teammate Sebastian Vettel. The four-time world champion was 4,318 seconds behind Leclerc on his fastest lap on the 0,263-kilometer circuit.

After the hour-long session in the Renault, the German Nico Hülkenberg finished twelfth, more than a second and a half behind. Because of the replacement of drive components in his car, Hülkenberg will be moved back five places on the starting grid for the race on Sunday (15.10:XNUMX p.m.) as a penalty.

Leclerc had already set the fastest lap in the second training session on Friday. It had one Crash Festival given.

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Verstappen could leave Red Bull thanks to an exit clause

Ahead of the Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen's potential departure from Red Bull is causing a stir.

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