Helmut Marko hints at ‘summer break’ exit clause for Max Verstappen
Helmut Marko shockingly revealed that Max Verstappen would take a final call on his future with Red Bull around the summer break.
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Max Verstappen and Helmut Marko (via Getty)
Red Bull has faced an extremely dire situation heading into the 2025 season. The fundamental issues in the previous year’s challenger have seemed to carry over into the current season as well. Still, Max Verstappen has kept up with performances while his teammate Liam Lawson suffered a disappointing fate. The Dutchman hopes for a quick turnaround in the pace of the car as Helmut Marko reveals the truth behind an exit clause for Verstappen.
Max Verstappen had remained critical of the RB21’s performance since the beginning of the 2025 season. The Dutchman still scored a stellar P2 finish at the season opener in Australia followed by a P4 finish at the Chinese GP. Moreover, Verstappen even met the engineers at the team’s factory in Milton Keynes to discuss the underlying issues in the car. Red Bull must find an immediate boost in performance in order to help the 27-year-old contend for his fifth consecutive drivers’ title.
Helmut Marko asserted that there were many upgrades needed on the RB21 to help Verstappen win his fifth title. Marko labeled this condition as a ‘big goal’ for the team as they continue to work hard on finding improvement. Subsequently, the 81-year-old shockingly claimed that every driver had an exit clause in their contracts if the team failed to enable the reigning world champion’s title ambitions.
Upgrades are needed for Max to win his fifth world title. That is our big goal and the whole team is working hard on it. Of course every top driver has an exit clause if performance is not good.
Helmut Marko told Formel1.de
Marko was further questioned about his opinions on Max Verstappen’s exit from Red Bull being finalized over the summer break of the 2025 season. The Austrian accepted that it was indeed the correct time for Verstappen to decide on his future with Milton Keynes. Regardless, the 81-year-old insisted that the Dutchman was still P2 in the drivers’ standings with a gap of just eight points to Lando Norris. The advisor emphasizes that the summer break is still a long way off as the team rushes to find immediate performance improvement.
Yes, that’s the time window. But please, we are second in the drivers’ championship with a deficit of eight points. The summer break is still a long way off.
Helmut Marko added
Helmut Marko will consider leaving Red Bull if Max Verstappen switches to rival team
Helmut Marko and Max Verstappen have continued to remain loyal to each other, especially regarding their position at Red Bull. It was previously revealed that Verstappen had an immediate exit clause in his contract if Marko were to leave Milton Keynes. Now, as uncertainty looms over the Dutchman’s future with the Austrian constructor, the 81-year-old has made a shocking revelation.
Marko didn’t think much about sharing his candid opinion on leaving the team if Verstappen were to deem his exit. The 81-year-old asserted that it would be a good reason to leave the Austrian constructor following the Dutchman’s departure. As a result, Red Bull is in a do-or-die situation in finding massive improvement in their performance as key personnel could leave the team if they fail to do so.
That could be a good reason [to leave Red Bull], yes.
Helmut Marko noted
F1 Pundit labels Red Bull as ’10th fastest team’ without Max Verstappen
The secondary driver at Red Bull has failed to match up to the team’s expectations in recent years. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen seems to hold the chains together for Milton Keynes as he single-handedly tried to keep the team in constructors’ championship contention in the 2024 season. However, ex-F1 Strategy Engineer Bernie Collins raised unsurety over the team’s chances in the absence of Verstappen.
Bernie Collins didn’t hesitate to make a bold claim about Red Bull’s chances to succeed if Verstappen didn’t show up to a race weekend. Collins pointed out that Milton Keynes would be the tenth fastest team if the Dutchman didn’t race. She recalled the 2024 season when the Austrian constructor was the fourth fastest with just Sergio Perez in the picture. The Englishman reiterated that the energy-drink manufacturing giant’s team finds itself in the last place if the 27-year-old did not race.
If Max leaves or doesn’t show up at a race, they are currently the 10th fastest team. I was criticised last year for saying, when Checo was there, that if Max didn’t turn up for race, they were the fourth fastest team. But at the minute, they’re 10th fastest.
Bernie Collins told Sky Sports F1
Red Bull has to find massive grounds for improvement over the 2024 season to remain in contention for either of the championships. As things are, the team is heading towards an extremely disappointing end for the final year of the ground-effect era. Still, Verstappen is optimistic about his chances to succeed in the drivers’ title this year as he has maintained an impressive streak of performances.
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