Max Verstappen has not answered.
The four-time champion is reportedly sitting on a Red Bull proposal worth around $80 million a year through 2029, terms sent to his management several weeks ago and still without a response.
The condition is written in one line: he must waive the performance-based exit clause that became live earlier this month.
That clause turned on because Verstappen finished the first half of the season outside the championship top two.
Read also: FIFA's $10 billion World Cup plan faces furious backlash from Football giants
According to Motorsport Week, he sits sixth in the standings, more than 100 points behind leader Kimi Antonelli, and the summer break locked in his position as the trigger. He has until October to activate the release and put himself on the market for 2027.
The condition, not the money
The size of the offer is not really the story. Red Bull already pay Verstappen a basic salary of around €65 million a year, so a raise to roughly $80 million is not the kind of jump that settles a driver’s future on its own.
What matters is that Red Bull want him locked in with no way out, whatever happens to the car.
Neither the team nor the driver has commented publicly on the report, which surfaced in the German paper BILD on 28 July.
Read also: Klopp's first act as Germany coach is a warning to the press
Vermeulen: Max wants to see out 2028
Verstappen’s manager Raymond Vermeulen told GPFans two weeks ago:
“There’s a lot being written about it. But the truth is, Max wants to finish his time with Red Bull. He has a contract until 2028 and would like to fulfil it.”
On the release provision itself, Vermeulen added:
“The fact that this clause exists doesn’t mean we’ll activate it. We could have activated it in recent years as well, and we haven’t.”
Read also: He's back: Heartbroken Messi takes major new step after World Cup final defeat
Mercedes settle on Russell and Antonelli
Toto Wolff has publicly locked Mercedes into George Russell and Kimi Antonelli for 2027, as noted in the same Yahoo/Athlon report.
McLaren’s line-up is broadly in place too. Verstappen’s long-time race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase has already moved to McLaren, per GPFans.
Verstappen himself has said little, telling Motorsport Week:
“This team is like a second family to me. I’m just trying to understand our car a bit better and get back to winning ways.”
The paperwork remains unsigned. October is the deadline.
Read also: First european nation breaks ranks, accepts Infantino's World Cup sale proposal
