The exit clause that can trigger Max Verstappen to exit Red Bull

After achieving glory in Formula 1, after becoming world champion last season ahead of Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen became the highest paid driver in the competition by signing a an extension of his contract in early March.

However, this item within the agreement was not the only one that surprised, but so did the number of years for which it did so, until 2028, in a strategic move by the Austrian team to shield its star driver for several seasons against any unexpected market movement.

Now, a month after that moment when Mad Max signed his signature, Helmut Marko (team advisor) revealed that despite the extension of the agreement, the Dutchman can use a clause to leave the team at any time he wants.

“If Red Bull experiences a kind of 'accident', as in 2014 when we had absolutely no chance against Mercedes because of the engine, then there is, of course, an exit clause,” acknowledged the former Austrian driver.

“Max is an important link in the game of chess. It is not surprising that manufacturers take this into account. It was important for Red Bull to be able to say that we committed the best driver to our team until 2028. If you have someone like Max, it has a positive effect on the rest of the team and the team partners,” he said in an interview with Formel1.

The 24-year-old, meanwhile, seems far from wanting to activate this option for the time being, since in each interview he is always responsible for making clear the good relationship he has with Christian Horner and the rest of the team. “I feel very good in the team and I think that is already very important. And I always felt faithful to the opportunity they gave me in F1. And besides, we have always had the same objective”, were some of his last statements.

“I have always believed in this project and, fortunately, it was worth it last year and that also takes the pressure off me a little, the need to win that title. We have already materialized the dream and I trust the people around me. I have a good time with them, there is no reason to change that,” he said.

Coming to F1 in 2015 at the wheel of Toro Rosso, the Red Bull subsidiary team, Verstappen rose in 2016, winning his first GP with Red Bull in Spain, becoming the youngest driver to win a race in history, with 18 years, 7 months and 15 days, one of his several records for precocity.

Six years after its premiere in La Máxima, and as detailed by the Dutch newspaper De Teleegraf, the Dutchman became the highest paid in F1 with a “salary estimated at 50 million euros (about 55 million dollars) per season”.

His rival Lewis Hamilton, a seven-time world champion and with a contract with Mercedes until the end of 2023, is so far the highest paid driver. The Briton would be pocketing 54.8 million euros for his sporting activity, with a fixed salary slightly less than 50 million euros.

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