The possibility of Max Verstappen triggering a reshuffle at the top three teams for 2020 appears closer than ever.
On Thursday, the Dutchman committed his future to Red Bull when asked about his less than spectacular results this season, suggesting he would give time for the Honda project to develop.
However, Spain’s Marca newspaper has claimed Verstappen has a clause in his contract which would allow him to leave the team if they failed to win a race before August’s Hungarian Grand Prix.
Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport also mentions the presence of a clause, but they believe it is linked to the final position in the Drivers’ Championship, much like Sebastian Vettel in 2014.
Journalist Tobias Gruener also notes the presence of this clause has been acknowledged by Helmut Marko.
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The belief is should Verstappen leave then Mercedes would be his first pick to create a super-team with Lewis Hamilton.
While it’s unknown if the Briton would accept such a move, it is well-known that Max’s father Jos is in regular contact with team boss Toto Wolff and the two sides had to deny speculation of talks earlier this year.
The other option is Ferrari, but there isn’t much of a relationship between Verstappen and the Scuderia and they may also want to focus solely on Charles Leclerc as their future lead driver.
Should either move take place, it also raised the prospect of Sebastian Vettel rejoining Red Bull, with AMuS claiming the German is still seen regularly at his former team.
And should Max join Mercedes, Valtteri Bottas could well be considered by Ferrari, with the Finn having previously been linked to a seat during his days at Williams.
Welcome to silly season 2019!
