Red Bull gives Max Verstappen a big offer to change his contract clause

Red Bull gives Max Verstappen a big offer to change his contract clause

Red Bull Racing is said to have made a big money offer to Max Verstappen to get him to drop a special clause in his contract.

Max, 28, is one of the most exciting drivers in Formula 1. He’s won four World Championships and holds records for the most wins, most podiums, and most consecutive wins in a season. He even shares the record for most consecutive pole positions with the legendary Ayrton Senna.

But this season has been tough for him. Right now, he’s seventh in the 2026 standings, with only two podiums from eight races. That puts him 98 points behind the leader, Kimi Antonelli, and 58 points behind second-place George Russell.

Back in 2022, Max pulled off an amazing comeback to win the championship, overcoming a 46-point gap. Still, this year, it seems like it would take a miracle for him to catch up.

The big deal is that Max’s contract with Red Bull has a clause that lets him end the deal if he’s not in the top two by the summer break. Even though Max has said he plans to stay with Red Bull until 2028, that could change if they keep falling behind on the track.

Red Bull really wants to keep him and reportedly offered him a huge sum — around €8 million (£6.9 million) — to drop that release clause. F1 insider Ralf Bach mentioned in a recent YouTube video that Max needs to decide by his birthday on September 30th.

On top of this, Red Bull is dealing with other changes. Chief engineer Paul Monaghan is expected to leave, possibly moving to Cadillac. He’s been with the team since 2005 and was a major part of their strong years from 2010 to 2014.

There have been other big departures too. Max’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase is joining McLaren, while former team boss Christian Horner and racing advisor Helmut Marko left in 2025. Design star Adrian Newey moved to Aston Martin, and sporting director Jonathan Wheatley went to Audi in 2024.

It’s a time of big changes for Red Bull, but they’re clearly doing everything they can to keep their star driver happy.