Is Verstappen about to sign Red Bull’s big deal?

The Verstappen Red Bull contract extension 2026 story just got a major new twist. According to German publication BILD, Red Bull Racing has placed a huge new deal on the table for Max Verstappen, and the paddock is buzzing. Here is everything you need to know.

The Verstappen Red Bull contract extension offer explained

Red Bull Racing has offered a big-money contract extension to Verstappen that would take him through to the end of the 2029 Formula 1 season, according to BILD. That would add a year beyond his current deal.

Red Bull have reportedly tabled a lucrative new contract that would keep the four-time world champion at Milton Keynes until the end of 2029. The proposed deal, first reported by BILD, is said to be worth approximately $80 million per season, a notable increase on his current annual earnings of around €65 million.

Red Bull want Verstappen’s existing performance-based exit clause scrapped entirely as part of the restructured terms. Senior figures within the team, including Laurent Mekies and sporting director Oliver Mintzlaff, are understood to be driving the contract renegotiation.

According to BILD, “Verstappen and his management have had Red Bull’s offer for several weeks. There has been no official response since then.” That silence speaks volumes.

What the exit clause means right now

This Verstappen Red Bull contract extension push is no coincidence. It comes directly because his performance clause is now fully active.

It is known that Verstappen’s current deal has a performance clause in it, which states he is free to leave at the end of 2026 if he is not inside the top two in the standings at the summer break.

Despite finishing second in last weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, the Red Bull driver goes into the summer shutdown sixth in the standings, over 100 points down on Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli. According to BILD, the performance clause in Verstappen’s deal has automatically activated, and he has until October to make a final decision on his future.

Widespread media reports suggest that Verstappen will have until October this year to actually activate his clause and decide to leave Red Bull, which is a major issue for the team.

High-level meetings at locations associated with both Red Bull and Mercedes suggest that all options remain firmly on the table for the four-time champion.

Verstappen’s car degradation mystery in Hungary

Aside from the contract noise, there is a serious on-track story here too. At the Hungarian Grand Prix, Verstappen reported a baffling issue with his RB22 that even his own engineers could not see.

Verstappen says Red Bull suffered “car degradation” during Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying, and that his RB22 was rendered “completely undriveable” by the end of Q3. Verstappen spun at the final corner on his last attempt in Q3, though was already labouring at that point to improve on his previous best.

The whole weekend has been tough, and in qualifying especially “the car is just degrading,” said Verstappen. “We don’t have tyre deg, we have car degradation.”

Yet Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies offered a fascinating explanation for this gap between what Verstappen feels and what the data shows.

Mekies said: “It is a fact that Max senses things we cannot measure with our current data analysis and sensors in the car. I will be very honest about that.” He added that “this is the result of his extraordinary sensitivity in the car and the technical level he possesses. I do not see that as a worrying factor, but rather as a great strength.”

Mekies gave an example: “Max already felt at the beginning of this year that there was a problem with the steering rack, and we couldn’t see it. But thanks to him, we were able to solve it.”

That is genuinely impressive. But it also highlights how hard this 2026 season has been for Verstappen and Red Bull. Check our earlier piece on why the Verstappen McLaren visit at the Belgian GP matters for more background on this growing story.

Will Verstappen sign the Red Bull deal?

Right now, nobody knows. Verstappen’s manager has tried to calm the waters. Verstappen’s manager told Austria’s OE24 that Verstappen intends to see out his current Red Bull deal. “There’s a lot being written about it,” Vermeulen said. “But the truth is, Max wants to finish his time with Red Bull.”

But the Verstappen Red Bull contract extension talks are clearly complicated. Verstappen may be reluctant to give up control of his future, even if an extension promises to be lucrative. Giving up the exit clause is a big ask.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said this weekend he would be sticking with George Russell and Kimi Antonelli for 2027, which leaves McLaren as Verstappen’s only semi-realistic option. That narrows the road out of Red Bull considerably.

Max has been in the room with the right people at both Red Bull’s Austrian base and at locations in Germany, making this Verstappen Red Bull contract extension saga more active than ever heading into the summer break.

One thing is clear: the next few weeks will define not just Verstappen’s future, but the shape of the entire 2027 driver market. Stay tuned.

Follow the full 2026 season as it unfolds on our F1 results and news hub.