Christian Horner has no concern about the exit clause of Max Verstappen’s Formula One contract, which will allow him to see him leave Red Bull at the end of the season.
According to a report by The Times, Verstappen said that the current Red Bull contract has a clause that allows the team to leave if they are not in the top three for the Formula 1 driver championship.
Verstappen is currently third in the 2025 F1 driver ranking, 26 points ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell.
Dutchman’s future of Formula 1 has been a hot topic since last year as Totowolf looked at his options following Lewis Hamilton’s shock decision to leave the team at Ferrari, amid interest from Mercedes.
Verstappen has been deeply linked to the switch to Aston Martin, especially since Adrian Newey arrived as a managing technical partner.
Speaking after FP1 at the Canadian Grand Prix, Horner asserted that Burstappen was committed to Red Bull.
“Obviously, drivers have performance clauses in their contracts. They are the point of a year that tends to be in the summer when things come true,” Horner explained to SkySport F1.
“I think the relationship with the driver has to go beyond what the paper says, it has to be about their comfort in the team, their confidence in the team.
“His commitment is absolute and he’s consistent with what he says. For us, it’s better than referring to paper how we can improve. If in life you need to refer to a contract, it’s about your relationship with the driver and trusting each other.”
Horner addresses Verstappen’s looming racial ban
Heading into this weekend, Verstappen is just one penalty point from the race ban.
Verstappen was given three penalty points for a clash with Barcelona’s Russell.
Horner refused to elaborate on what Red Bull would do if Burstappen was forced to miss the race.
“Lindblad is at the beginning of his journey in Formula 1, with his license granted,” he added.
“First of all, that’s a situation we desperately want to avoid. If that’s coming, we have enough drivers to pull out of the Red Bull driver pool.”
When asked if Isack Hadjar would be promoted to the main team, Horner replied.
