Marko speaks out on Verstappen potentially breaking his contract with Red Bull before 2028

Max Verstappen’s contract situation remains a hot topic. The four-time world champion recently suffered a heavy DNF in Austria after being taken out—albeit unintentionally—by Kimi Antonelli, significantly narrowing his chances of securing a fifth career title.

"The contract runs until 2028. The contract has exit clauses that are performance-related,” said Helmut Marko to the German branch of Sky Sports at the end of the race.

For now, the Austrian does not expect Max Verstappen to leave: "As things stand, there's no reason to doubt that the contract will be honored."

After the Austrian Grand Prix, the 82-year-old reached a harsh conclusion: Verstappen’s world championship hopes might as well be over following this retirement.

The conversation around a potential Verstappen switch to Mercedes flared up again when George Russell inadvertently revealed that talks between the Dutchman and the German team are still ongoing.

Toto Wolff was pressed on the subject during Friday’s press conference. Though he kept his answers deliberately vague, the message was clear.