Max Verstappen has a massive decision to make about his future in Formula 1, and a former team boss just revealed one major reason Red Bull might still have the upper hand in keeping their four-time champion.
The 28-year-old Dutch driver’s current contract runs through 2028, but an exit clause now reportedly gives him the freedom to leave for 2027 if he chooses. Verstappen has been visibly frustrated this season, slipping outside the top two in the standings before the summer break and openly criticizing his team’s 2026 car. He even admitted after back-to-back crashes in Austria and Silverstone that things were getting “dangerous,” which only fueled transfer rumors linking him to Mercedes and McLaren.
Ex-Haas boss Guenther Steiner weighed in on the situation during a recent podcast, saying the landscape has shifted fast. “I think the problem for Max at the moment… if you’d asked me three or four days ago, I would say going to McLaren is a sideways move,” Steiner explained. “After yesterday, maybe it’s not a sideways move.”
He noted that Verstappen likely wants to join a team that is clearly better than Red Bull, but few options tick that box. Ferrari seats are filled, Mercedes may have found their next star in Kimi Antonelli, and McLaren’s superiority remains unproven until recently.
So what gives Red Bull an edge? According to Steiner, it’s the team’s in-house engine program. “Red Bull has one advantage, they’ve got their own engine now.
It’s an advantage if you’ve got a works engine,” he said. While McLaren runs Mercedes customer power units, having a factory engine could be the deciding factor for Verstappen if he stays.
The question now: will the Dutchman bet on Red Bull’s new power unit future, or chase a fresh challenge elsewhere when the opportunity knocks?
