Max Verstappen wrestling an unsettled Red Bull toward the podium while McLaren searches for the pace that carried it to both 2025 titles has sharpened the biggest question in the paddock. What could the four-time world champion do in papaya machinery?
The answer is obvious enough to keep the rumour alive. Verstappen remains Formula 1’s hardest reference point when races become fights over tyre life, battery deployment and changing grip. McLaren has modern facilities, championship pedigree and the technical depth required to build another title contender.
Reality offers far less room for fantasy. McLaren already employs reigning champion Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri on long-term contracts. Verstappen would also be leaving one rebuilding project for another. Woking’s current car is not a guaranteed winner, while Red Bull still offers him influence, familiarity and a team constructed around his demands.
The sporting fit makes sense. Finding him a seat does not.
Why Verstappen Would Listen
Red Bull’s old aura has cracked. The car that once allowed Verstappen to control races from the front has become increasingly nervous, particularly when rear stability fades or the balance shifts during a stint.
That has not reduced Verstappen’s value. He can punish the smallest tyre management mistake, read changing conditions within a lap and keep an uncooperative car in contention longer than most drivers could manage. McLaren would gain more than raw pace. It would gain the driver every rival still uses as the ultimate measuring stick.
Working can also offer structural stability. Red Bull has endured technical setbacks, leadership changes and years of internal tension. McLaren, by comparison, has built a clear chain of command around Andrea Stella and Zak Brown.
There is also the Gianpiero Lambiase connection. Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf first reported that Verstappen’s long-serving race engineer would leave Red Bull after his contract expires. Autosport later reported that Lambiase had agreed to join McLaren in a senior trackside role, with 2028 viewed as the latest possible arrival.
That development gives the Verstappen rumours genuine paddock texture. It does not make a transfer inevitable. Engineers cross factory lines regularly, and Lambiase would be joining McLaren for a broader leadership role rather than simply rebuilding his old Red Bull partnership.
Personnel, though, is only part of the calculation. Before Verstappen could consider following a familiar voice to Woking, he would need confidence in the machinery waiting inside the garage. That is where the argument becomes less convincing.
The MCL40 has lacked grip and downforce through faster corners, limiting the confidence Norris and Piastri can carry into the most demanding sections of a lap. McLaren has also struggled to unlock the full potential of the new Mercedes power unit, while electrical failures exposed its early reliability problems.
Those weaknesses point to a broader issue with understanding the complete 2026 package. Active aerodynamics, energy deployment and chassis balance must operate as one system. McLaren has not consistently connected those elements, with Norris estimating that the team remains roughly three months behind its leading rivals in understanding the car.
Verstappen would therefore be betting on McLaren’s recovery curve, not stepping directly into the fastest machine.
McLaren Has No Seat to Offer
Norris is the least movable piece on the board. He is McLaren’s reigning world champion, the driver developed inside its system and the public face of the team’s return to the front.
Removing him for Verstappen would create an extraordinary pairing on paper, but it would also mean discarding the foundation McLaren spent years building.
Pundits usually point to Piastri as the odd man out instead. That theory ignores his contract, his race victories and McLaren’s repeated insistence that he remains central to its plans. His manager, Mark Webber, has dismissed talk of an exit as fiction, while Piastri has said the team continues to reassure him about his future.
A swap between Piastri and Red Bull would look tidy on a television graphic. Inside the paddock, it would require several difficult agreements. Red Bull would need to want Piastri. McLaren would need to prefer Verstappen. Both drivers would have to accept the move, and the teams would need to settle major financial and contractual questions.
None of those puzzle pieces is in place.
Brown has treated the speculation with the humour of someone who knows he already holds a strong hand. Speaking at Spielberg, he joked that McLaren would consider Verstappen only if one of its “current drivers somehow slipped on a banana peel getting out of the tub.” The line drew attention, but the message underneath it was firm. McLaren admires Verstappen and has no vacancy for him.
Brown later made the position clearer. Talks had not advanced, and McLaren remained committed to Norris and Piastri.
The Exit Clause Creates Leverage
Verstappen’s Red Bull contract runs through 2028, but the length of the deal does not remove his influence over the driver market. Performance clauses can create an escape route when a team falls below an agreed championship position at a specific stage of the season.
That structure follows a familiar Formula 1 precedent. Elite drivers often protect themselves with clauses linked to championship standing around the summer break. Reports surrounding Verstappen’s agreement have placed the 2026 threshold inside the top two.
Such a clause would give Verstappen leverage if Red Bull cannot keep him near the front. His management could explore rival teams, demand stronger sporting guarantees or push for changes within Red Bull.
It would not create a McLaren seat.
Mercedes would face fewer political complications if it decided to make a serious move. Aston Martin could also build an argument around Adrian Newey, major investment and long-term ambition. McLaren carries stronger recent championship credentials, but it also possesses the most settled driver lineup among the leading teams.
Why the Blockbuster Remains Unlikely
The attraction is undeniable. Verstappen in a McLaren would redraw the competitive order and place the defining driver of the previous regulations inside the team that ended his championship run.
Pace is not the obstacle. Verstappen could win in papaya machinery if McLaren gave him the necessary car.
The barrier is everything surrounding the cockpit. Norris owns enormous sporting and political capital at Woking. Piastri has a secure contract and the team’s trust. Brown has little reason to dismantle a lineup that already delivered championships.
Verstappen also enjoys freedoms at Red Bull that another team might hesitate to match, particularly around his sim racing commitments and GT projects. Leaving would mean surrendering a degree of control as well as changing machinery.
Ultimately, the paddock gossip comes down to a harsh truth. The move does not depend on whether Verstappen could succeed at McLaren.
It depends on whether McLaren is willing to destroy a successful partnership to make room for him.
For now, that answer remains no.
READ MORE: Why McLaren and Red Bull Need a Miracle to Catch Mercedes in 2026
FAQs
Could Max Verstappen join McLaren?
A move is contractually possible, but McLaren has no obvious vacancy. The team remains committed to Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
Who would Verstappen replace at McLaren?
Norris appears secure as the reigning champion. Most speculation centres on Piastri, although he and McLaren have rejected suggestions that he wants to leave.
When does Max Verstappen’s Red Bull contract expire?
Verstappen’s current Red Bull agreement runs through the 2028 season. Reports say the contract also contains performance-related exit clauses.
Is Gianpiero Lambiase joining McLaren?
Yes. Lambiase will join McLaren after his Red Bull contract ends, with 2028 set as the latest arrival date.
Why does a Verstappen move to McLaren remain unlikely?
McLaren already has two contracted drivers and no open seats. Signing Verstappen would require the team to break up a successful championship lineup.
