Max Verstappen in McLaren talks for huge Lando Norris partnership | F1 | Sport

After winning four F1 world drivers’ titles between 2021 and 2024, Red Bull‘s form has been rocky. His contract with the Milton Keynes based team is not over until the end of 2028, but that has not appeared to put off McLaren. There are understood to be release clauses in his deal which would enable him to break out of it, should he choose to activate them.

According to the Daily Mail, a source close to both parties said: “It is an idea McLaren are keen on. If it comes off it may be in 2028, but it could even be earlier.”

McLaren managed to sign Verstappen’s long serving former race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase, who is currently on gardening leave after he left Red Bull in April. He’s expected to be at McLaren by 2028 at the latest, when his deal with Red Bull comes to an end.

Verstappen also saw a long term ally in Dr Helmut Marko depart Red Bull last year, which was believed to be a huge blow to him. The Flying Dutchman has also been linked with Mercedes, but George Russell has insisted his place is safe, while Kimi Antonelli is still leading the F1 pack.

Before this weekend’s Austrian GP, Russell said: “I’ll be racing here next year. I don’t want to go into any more detail, but I will be at Mercedes in 2027 and that’s the fact of it.”

Verstappen has also flirted with the idea of walking away from F1 completely. He has frequently slated the move to the half-electric engines, regularly comparing the sport to “Mario Kart”.

The 2026 campaign has also been an agonising one for him at times. He is currently seventh in the standings, a huge 101 points behind current leader Antonelli.