Max Verstappen “exit card” theory discussed, tipped to stay at Red Bull in F1 2025

Legendary F1 commentator Martin Brundle expects Max Verstappen to remain with Red Bull for the 2025 campaign but questioned whether he has an “exit card” should he want to leave the team.

Verstappen’s F1 future has been a hot topic in recent months despite the fact he has a contract with Red Bull until 2028.

The Dutchman is on course to take his fourth consecutive drivers’ title this year having won four of the opening six races.

However, off-track events involving Christian Horner, and Adrian Newey’s decision to leave the team, might tempt Verstappen into doing the same.

With F1’s regulations staying relatively stable for 2025, it’s likely Verstappen will end this era of the sport as a five-time world champion.

Speaking on Sky’s Miami Grand Prix broadcast, Brundle assessed Verstappen’s future.

“It’s a bigger picture than that,” he said. “It’s really complex. Making a decision to move, you’ve got to have a crystal ball to understand how it’s going to be.

“The aero team and so many other factors. I do wonder if team Verstappen has got an exit card they can play at some point.

“If they’re unsure about what happens in the future but the 2025 cars will be largely these cars and I don’t think he will be wanting to run away from potentially yet another championship next year.”

Former IndyCar star Danica Patrick interviewed Verstappen during the Miami weekend for Sky.

She was surprised Verstappen’s main goal in F1 isn’t to win eight world titles.

“He’s very level headed,” she explained. “He’s very driven for excellence and for things to be super perfect. That was a very interesting answer that he just loves that perfection so much.

“What I thought was most interesting was asking about his goals and how he’s achieved everything in F1 that he wants to. He didn’t say he wants to win eight world championships which might be within reach given the run he’s having. He just mentioned he wants to be in the best cars, so what will he do?

“Will he maybe ride out these cars until they don’t have the performance they do and move on to something else? He did say there’s lots of other things to do.”