Max Verstappen can reportedly escape from his Red Bull contract if he is not in the top two of the Drivers’ Championship standings by the summer break. The Dutchman currently trails the McLaren duo of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris after five rounds of the 2025 season. The reigning world champion is chasing a fifth successive Drivers’ Championship crown in 2025, which would see him pull level with Michael Schumacher in the record books for consecutive F1 titles.

However, McLaren are standing in his way, and the Woking-based squad have two drivers capable of fighting for the top honours. While McLaren have started the season fast, Red Bull have stuttered and stalled. Verstappen was able to claim a victory in Japan, but required a career-highlight pole lap and some stout defending to do so.

Another win slipped through his fingers in Jeddah due to driver error, but the truth remains that the RB21’s shortcomings are forcing the 27-year-old to drive faultlessly just to stay in touch with Piastri and Norris. Red Bull’s worrying performance has also generated speculation that Verstappen could leave the team at the end of the season.

According to a report from The Race, Verstappen has a clause in his Red Bull contract that would allow him to negotiate with other teams if he is outside the top two in the Drivers’ Championship standings by the summer break.

This suggestion was supported by Helmut Marko’s comments in Saudi Arabia. When asked if the summer break was crunch time for deciding Verstappen’s future, he told Formel1.de: “Yes, that’s the time window. But please, we are third in the Drivers’ Championship with a deficit of eight points. The summer break is still a long way off.”

Despite Marko’s confidence, the Austrian advisor did accept that Red Bull are relying on their upcoming upgrade packages in Miami and Imola to bring them back into play. Verstappen is currently 12 points behind Piastri at the top of the standings.

“Upgrades are needed for Max to win his fifth world title,” he confessed. “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. But they are all tuned differently. That is not a topic at the moment.”

If Verstappen calls time on his Red Bull career this summer, his options are most likely limited to Mercedes and Aston Martin. The latter have a significant pull for the Dutchman after securing Honda power units and the services of Adrian Newey, with whom he won all four of his Drivers’ Championship titles.