Jos Verstappen lands ‘headless chicken’ dig as Max to Mercedes rumours swirl

Jos Verstappen says Robert Doornbos “talks like a headless chicken” after the former F1 driver claimed there are two separate clauses in Max Verstappen’s contract.

Speculation that Verstappen could walk away from Red Bull at the end of this season to join Mercedes hit fever pitch on Wednesday as a report in Italy claimed that Mercedes are in ‘concrete negotiations’ with the four-time World Champion.

Could Max Verstappen leave Red Bull for Mercedes?

It’s a rumour that’s been doing the rounds for more than a year now after Toto Wolff publicly courted Verstappen to replace Lewis Hamilton for this year’s championship.

He gave up on that after the 2024 summer break when he announced Andrea Kimi Antonelli, with Russell already committed until the end of the F1 2025 season.

That did little to silence the Verstappen whispers, it only moved the speculation on to the F1 2026 season.

And that rumour ignited earlier this week.

Despite being officially under contract with Red Bull until the end of the 2028 season, Verstappen is believed to have a clause in his contract that will reportedly allow him to leave the team if he is lower than fourth in the Drivers’ Championship after next month’s Hungarian Grand Prix.

If that is correct, his recent DNF at the Austrian Grand Prix was a blow to Red Bull as Verstappen is now just nine points ahead of Russell, as they sit third and fourth in the standings.

Red Bull also lost ground in the Constructors’ Championship, falling 47 points away from the third-placed team.

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Former Red Bull F1 driver Doornbos claims Verstappen not only has a clause relating to his position in the Drivers’ standings, but that there’s also one regarding Red Bull’s position on the teams’ log.

Speaking about the “consequences” of Verstappen’s Austrian Grand Prix retirement, Doornbos told Race Café De Stamtafel: “If the exit clauses are correct, because of course there are two clauses actually, then one will be activated if Max is not in the top two among the drivers.

“And if Red Bull is not in the top three among the constructors, then one will also be activated.

“The other one is about third place among the constructors, I’m 100 per cent sure it’s in there. If a constructor can no longer deliver, then Max cannot deliver. And Red Bull is fourth.”

“He’s leaving,” the Dutchman went on to insist.

“Red Bull’s fairy tale stops at some point. As much as you would like to see it go ahead.”

However, Verstappen’s father Jos issued a simple but cutting response on an Instagram post from Ziggo Sport of Doornbos’ claims.

“Doornbos talks like a headless chicken,” wrote Verstappen Sr.

On his side, Verstappen himself isn’t giving much airtime to the latest rumour as the Red Bull driver says it only creates more speculation.

“I do not have to add much to that,” he told Viaplay.

“The more I say about it, the more it will be reported in the media. And I certainly do not want that.

“I determine my own future.”

Formula 1 will have to wait a few more weeks to learn whether the rumour is true or false with Toto Wolff revealing in Austria that he will confirm Mercedes’ F1 2026 driver lineup either just before the summer break or during it.

“You need to be respectable towards the stakeholders in all of that process,” the Mercedes team principal told media including PlanetF1.com.

“The organisation, the drivers, everybody. You need to understand the way forward.

“And I don’t want to be sadistic in letting a driver wait or not taking any decisions when it should be taken. So I feel we’re in a good space. We’re [in] June.

“Obviously there’s lots of discussions around. I’ve been open with it and transparent.

“And at a certain stage in the next couple of months – until the summer break, we need to know. Until the summer break, everything is going to be done.”

Pressed on whether that meant before or after the summer break, Wolff smiles and said: “Maybe in the middle.”

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