Red Bull F1’s Helmut Marko says they have Max Verstappen locked down

THERE WERE RUMORS THE 19-YEAR-OLD COULD BOLT TO FERRARI NEXT SEASON Red Bull Racing insists there is no risk it could lose Max Verstappen to a rival team like Ferrari before his contract runs out.

Former Formula 1 driver Martin Brundle teased this week that he believes the 19-year-old is frustrated as Red Bull struggles to match Ferrari and Mercedes. Thus, there are rumors Verstappen could be poached by Ferrari, whose contracts with Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen run out at the end of the season.

Although the young Dutchman is under contract for 2018, one rumor is that his deal contains a clause that might let him leave Red Bull for performance reasons.

But Red Bull driver manager Dr. Helmut Marko told Germany’s Auto Bild that’s not the case.

“Contrary to all rumors, there is no performance clause in Verstappen’s contract,” Marko said. “If we do not release him, he cannot switch to Ferrari.”

So that puts an end to that.