{"id":32202,"date":"2025-03-31T03:47:44","date_gmt":"2025-03-31T07:47:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/?p=32202"},"modified":"2025-03-31T03:59:26","modified_gmt":"2025-03-31T07:59:26","slug":"max-verstappen-exit-clauses-put-red-bull-under-pressure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/03\/31\/max-verstappen-exit-clauses-put-red-bull-under-pressure\/","title":{"rendered":"Max Verstappen exit clauses put Red Bull under pressure"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>After a series of dominant campaigns in 2022 and 2023, it was Max Verstappen who made the difference for Red Bull last season. The Dutchman spent most of the year in inferior machinery to McLaren &#8211; though this didn&#8217;t stop him from clinching a fourth world title.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, even prior to Verstappen&#8217;s latest triumph, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/03\/30\/red-bull-rb21-development-concerns-intensify\/\" target=\"_self\">Red Bull<\/a> needed no reminders of his importance to the team.<\/p>\n<p>However, the repeated struggles of his teammates &#8211; most recently Liam Lawson &#8211; have highlighted Red Bull&#8217;s reliance on the 27-year-old.<\/p>\n<p>Because of this, the Austrian outfit are under growing pressure to rectify the RB21&#8217;s early deficiencies.<\/p>\n<p>Not just to salvage this season, but also to secure the services of Max Verstappen for the long-term.<\/p>\n<h4>Why 2025 is crucial for Red Bull to keep Verstappen<\/h4>\n<p>With <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/03\/14\/mclaren-favourites-after-australia-race-simulations\/\" target=\"_self\">McLaren<\/a> already showing flashes of a potentially dominant MCL39, it will not be long before teams are faced with an important decision: Focus on the 2026 regulations, or make a push for the 2025 title.<\/p>\n<p>For most midfield teams, the decision to focus on 2026 will be relatively easy.<\/p>\n<p>Even front-runners like Mercedes have expressed a willingness to focus on the next regulations.<\/p>\n<p>However, the same cannot be said for Red Bull. After eighteen months of relatively stagnant development, the Milton Keynes outfit cannot afford to abandon the RB21.<\/p>\n<p>Should they allow a narrative of their decline to become further established this year, the story could become even uglier in 2026.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"fwHwx7PkQgVscgqD4PlJDg\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/2202271624\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'fwHwx7PkQgVscgqD4PlJDg',sig:'MMUAlJw-BtFjtxNefksnu5ndJ0MRfIpFSedO1CvvK2A=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'2202271624',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Max Verstappen has consistently voiced his complaints about his most recent F1 machines.<\/p>\n<p>Should Christian Horner&#8217;s team fail to produce a car capable of fighting for wins, Verstappen will be encouraged to explore alternatives.<\/p>\n<p>As it stands, Red Bull are generally expected to have a slow start in <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/03\/13\/aston-martin-newey-focusing-entirely-on-2026-car\/\" target=\"_self\">2026<\/a> (due to their new power units). Therefore, it is imperative they deliver a strong campaign this season.<\/p>\n<p>Helmut Marko has spoken candidly about Verstappen&#8217;s contractual situation:<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;Of course, every top driver has an exit clause if performance is not good,&#8221; <\/em>he told formel1.de.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/03\/22\/it-will-be-difficult-to-keep-verstappen-without-a-winning-car-marko\/\" target=\"_self\">Helmut Marko has previously issued similar warnings<\/a> on this issue:<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;Max always wants a car that can win,&#8221;<\/em> he explained to Sky Germany.<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;There are always performance clauses. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;And if we can&#8217;t offer him that [a winning car], it will be difficult [to keep him].&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a id=\"vtmW0rzQTJl6rxviA3KlWA\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/2186586306\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'vtmW0rzQTJl6rxviA3KlWA',sig:'kjIOeFt3uby_qsRBiwVUwP_t86TmW7xbU_RROaiPb0U=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'2186586306',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<h4>The Tsunoda variable<\/h4>\n<p>At the surface, the call to replace Liam Lawson with <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/03\/24\/yuki-tsunoda-did-very-well-in-red-bull-test-horner\/\" target=\"_self\">Yuki Tsunoda<\/a> is primarily a decision with short-term implications.<\/p>\n<p>Tsunoda&#8217;s performance in the RB21 over the next few weeks could determine Red Bull&#8217;s title chances.<\/p>\n<p>They are already significantly behind McLaren in the standings and cannot afford to lose any more ground.<\/p>\n<p>Should Tsunoda quickly acclimatise to the RB21, it could give Red Bull a fighting chance to limit the damage against McLaren and Mercedes &#8211; at least until their first upgrade package arrives.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond this, however, there is another perspective to consider.<\/p>\n<p>If the Japanese driver experiences similar struggles to Lawson, it will only emphasise Red Bull&#8217;s dependence on <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/01\/15\/verstappen-rb21-performance-is-more-relevant-than-my-teammate\/\" target=\"_self\">Max Verstappen<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Considering Verstappen&#8217;s previous comments about the VCARB 02 (having suggested Lawson would get better results at the second team), it would be a horrifically bad look if Tsunoda is also unable to crack the top 10.<\/p>\n<p>If Red Bull have any chance of changing the intensifying scepticism surrounding their operations, and by extension retain Verstappen&#8217;s services, improvements are needed &#8211; and needed soon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After a series of dominant campaigns in 2022 and 2023, it was Max Verstappen who made the difference for Red Bull last season. The Dutchman spent most of the year in inferior machinery to McLaren &#8211; though this didn&#8217;t stop him from clinching a fourth world title. Of course, even prior to Verstappen&#8217;s latest triumph, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4927,"featured_media":32203,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[2452,2455,720],"class_list":["post-32202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-formula-1","category-news","tag-f1-2025-season","tag-rb21","tag-verstappen"],"modified_by":"Jaden Diaz-Ndisang","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4927"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32202"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32202\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32207,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32202\/revisions\/32207"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}